All I Want For Christmas
by B4C
Summary: What happens when Chuck and Blair are thrown together for a very special work assignment over Christmas break. Ah, Christmas, they do say it's the most wonderful time of the year…for falling in love. c/b, j/n, s/d.
1. Chapter 1

All I Want For Christmas.

I was in the mood for a holiday story and I thought what better couple then Chair. If your looking for heavy angst keep looking cause this one will be fluffy and uplifting (but of course still Chuck and Blair style).

What happens when Chuck and Blair are thrown together for a very special work assignment over Christmas break: babysitting the boss's daughter. Ah, Christmas, they do say it's the most wonderful time of the year…for falling in love. c/b, j/n, s/d.

Background; It has been 10 years since Chuck and Blair decided that they couldn't 'hold hands' or 'go to the movies'. They still stood by each other through everything and had the occasional slip up leading to the unspoken agreement between them that they will not be alone together.

Chuck is now seconded in command to Jack at Bass Industries and a workaholic. He throws himself into his job to avoid how much he misses Blair.

Blair worked hard and graduated from Harvard law school and now works for the legal department at Bass industries.

Chapter One – Under the Metaphorical Mistletoe.

When Blair Waldorf returned to her office at Bass Industries late on Monday night before Christmas weekend, all she wanted to do was grab the files she needed for her meeting the next morning, swap out her black Jimmy Choo's for her silver Manolo's and head to cocktail-hour. She didn't have time to waist.

The holiday party that was her ultimate destination was already in progress and Blair didn't want to be late for the peppermint martinis with candy canes on the rims. The holidays was Blair's favorite time of year, and this December she had every intention of making the most of it.

Starting with changing her shoes. Snatching the Manolo's from the bottom desk drawer where she keep them for happy hour emergences, Blair smiled. Equipped with these, and minus the sensible suite jacket that had covered her close-fitting, red, Eleanor Waldorf original all day, she'd be sure to take the party by storm.

She clutched the shoes and her new red-sequined Valentino purse, and careened down the short passageway between the vacated offices, wriggling out of her suite jacket as she went.

Halfway to the reception area, she glimpsed movement from the corner of her eye. A coworker who hadn't noticed it was already past quitting time and moving toward party time, probably. After only a few more steps she recognized him. She stopped. The off-key interpretation of 'Frosty the Snowman' she'd been humming died in her throat.

_It was him. Chuck Bass. _

Her heart knew it, and so did her body. Instantly.

Why him? Why now? Why here?

Well, the why here part was easy enough – Chuck was the heir apparent to Bass Industries, destined to assume leadership of the company when his uncle stepped down. And on second thought, the way now part was a slam dunk, too, since Chuck pretty much defined 'workaholic' these days. And now that she considered it the why him part was obvious, too.

It had always been him, for her.

And now, just when she least expected it, here he was. Alone. With her. In exactly the circumstances they'd spent the past several years trying to avoid.

Even though his back was facing her, she'd have recognized him anywhere. His concentrated movements at his desk were uniquely his own. So was his take charge stance. And his aura of general authority…and his absolute, Hollywood leading man, charm and hunkiness.

Did she mention the charm and charisma? The reason that Blair had thrown caution to the wind ten years ago, and shattered her dream bubble. Replacing prince charming on a white stead for Chuck Bass in a black limo.

Well that had come back to bite her, now hadn't it?

All the same, she couldn't resist lingering. Chuck couldn't see her, didn't appear to have heard her, and seemed to be deeply engrossed in whatever architectural planes he was working on. Drawn by a compulsion even more irresistible then the craving for eggnog latte and Christmas cookies that had required a desk-to-Starbucks hike at three-thirty that afternoon, Blair took a step nearer. She absently hugged her belongings closer. And then, even though she knew she shouldn't, she let go and allowed the longing she always felt for Chuck Bass to wash over her.

A rueful smile tugged at her scarlet lips. They'd had some good times together. Happy times. Sexy times. If not for –

Chuck suddenly stilled. He glanced over his shoulder, his dark eyed gaze going straight for Blair. The intensity of his regard shrank the thirty-odd feet between them to mere inches. Curious, heated inches.

Busted. Feeling her heartbeat kick into high gear, Blair lifted her chin. She looked back at him. They were supposed to be avoiding each other, and she knew it. So did he.

For the space of several scattered breaths, neither she nor Chuck spoke. A connection spun between them all the same, through, a connection that was heady and spicy and meaningful, and laden with a sense that, if only things had been different…

'Did you lose your magic slipper, Cinderella?' he asked.

On that confusing note, Chuck came toward her. Unable to move, even though she ought to, Blair unwisely savored the power of his strides, the width of his shoulders. She held her breath as he crouched a few feet to her right then retrieved one of her prized shoes.

When he straightened and held it toward her, his height called her mind to the way she used to tuck her head cozily beneath his chin, as though she had been made to possess that niche. Blair blinked to dispel the memory. Christmas was a time for department store Santa's and artificial snow in Tiffany's windows – not regrets. Never regrets.

Her fingers closed on the strap of the shoe. It must have been fallen from her arms while she watched him, she realized. She'd been to engrossed to notice. And not noticing when one of your Manolos is missing ….well, that was serious stuff.

She tried to give him a smile, so he wouldn't guess exactly how little she'd gotten over him in the last 10 years. 'Thanks. I guess this makes you my own personal Prince Charming, doesn't it?'

* * *

Chuck felt the shoe slip from his hand. Assuming what he hoped was a dispassionate air, he watched Blair arch and twist as she traded her workday shoes for the sexy , sassy glamour of Cinderella shoes.

It wasn't an easy task. Watching her, that is. Not if he wanted to remain sanely uninvolved and rationally attempted. Moving the way Blair did, especially in a nothing little slip of a dress, ought to be illegal. And he ought to be arrested for his own protection, for allowing himself to enjoy it. But he did enjoy it, had loved the sight of her every movement since a night almost 11 years ago at Victrola.

They'd been right to avoid each other all these years, Chuck decided. No matter how much he wished that weren't true.

'Prince Charming?' he repeated. 'Not quite. Wrong fairy tale. But I'd be willing to bet you're late for the ball.'

She nodded. 'Party. At Butter. You want to come?'

What he wanted – what he needed – to do was work. Bass was at the top of the company letter head. Because of that there was this idea that Chuck owed his success more to family connections then to effort or talent. And it left Chuck constantly striving to prove his worth. Despite making his first million at 18 off his investment property - a downtown burlesque club, Victrola.

During this slow week before Christmas, he'd planned to get a leg up on the new year's proposals. He'd planned to take advantage of the quite offices and really get some work done, including going over the plans for the new innovative subdivisions he'd come up with. But now, faced with lair's indomitable appeal….well, strangely enough Chuck felt his resolve to get down to work double.

Maybe is was simple human nature kicking in. Survival of the stubbornest. Or maybe it was plain old self preservation at work. Because when it came right down to it, stepping up to be a man for Blair Waldorf was what had turned him into the workaholic he was today and he didn't know if his heart could handle disappointing her again.

Chuck inhaled the sweet scent of her perfume and the frizzy-sweet energy surrounding her. For an instant, he closed his eyes. If only things had been different…

'No, thanks,' Chuck made himself say. 'I've got –'

'Work to do, I know. Haven't you heard the saying? Something about all work and no play?'

Her mischievous grin captured him as she glanced up from adjusting her shoe strap. Her soft, brown curls, seemed as cheery as her smile. 'I know you have.' She adjusted her discarded suit jacket aver her arm. 'So how about it? Sure you won't ditch your desk and come along? It's Christmas, after all.'

Sure, Christmas the only time of year when hard work wasn't its own reward, and the whole world exploded into some kid of tinsel coated, red-satin, blinking light, festooned fantasy land. The holidays were the most difficult time of year for Chuck, they mark the anniversary of his fathers death. No matter what he did he would never be able to shake the feeling of discontentment at Christmas time.

Spending the evening with the only women he had never quite gotten over probably wouldn't be the cure-all he needed.

'Nah.' He mustered a smile. 'But you go on. Have fun. Dance on a few tables for me.'

Blair nodded, her hazel-eyed gaze never quite meeting his. Not wanting to prolong a conversation that was undoubtedly uncomfortable for them both, Chuck nodded too. As he turned away, he touched her shoulder in a farewell gesture. Well intentioned. And unexpectedly sensual.

The warmth of her bare skin stopped him instantly. He thought of long nights and leather limo seats, of whispers in the dark and shared laughter that went on and on. He thought of her. And losing her. Like a fist regret closed over him.

Their gazes met. Suppressed yearning tightened his muscles and shortened his breath. All he wanted, all he needed in that moment, was Blair. And him. Together. His hunger for it was as certain as the hammering of his heart, as inevitable as the Snow on Christmas in New York.

'Blair –'

'Well, sorry to bother you, then,' she blurted. 'I'll um, see you at your mom's for Christmas eve.'

Her skittish expression made him want to comfort her with a caress. Her sudden wariness when he stroked his fingers over her skin – once – made him pull his palm away. Chuck watched her.

'When a girl's deprived of her Prince Charming,' she said lightly, fiddling with her things again, 'there's only one thing to do, you know. Guess I'm destined to kiss a lot of frogs tonight.'

At the impish, falsely rueful look on Blair's face, temptation flared again. Her feisty spirit attracted him like nothing else. Don't do it, Chuck ordered himself as he thought over what she'd said and instantly formulated a reply. Just don't –

'Ribbit', he said.

Blair's eyes widened. Then, she laughed. 'Don't tempt me, wise guy. I've got more lip-gloss in that bag' – she nodded toward her spangled purse – 'and I'm not afraid to use it. Afterward.'

She raised her eyebrows. He smiled. Hers was a challenged any red-blooded male would have been crazy to refuse. Never mind their shared history. Never mind the risk the risks inherent in leaning forward to make sure she knew he could accept a dare as easily as she could issue one.

All at once, Blair's casually said words sparked something new and fresh between them. Chuck could no longer deny it any more then he could remember the correct order of Santa's reindeer.

He wanted to kiss her. She seemed interested in kissing him. And in the dimness of the deserted office it suddenly seemed entirely appropriate that they do so.

Which was how Chuck knew he was way over his head this time. And it was only likely to get worse, the more time he spent with Blair.

But this was only one moment. Nothing more. And because of that, he angeled his body closer. Their clothes touched, vibrant red meeting the gold of his neck tie. She glanced upward, and the teasing intimacy between them expanded. How many times had they come together like this, savoring the breaths between nearness and contact? How many times had he kissed her, and not been able to stop?

'Not enough,' she whispered, as though guessing his thoughts. Then Blair stepped closer, too.

Anticipation coursed through him, coupled with the familiar rush going toe-to-toe with her always gave him. Ruefully, Chuck shook his head. Only and idiot came this close to tasting forbidden fruit… a hungry idiot.

'There must me some mistletoe around here somewhere.' He said.

'I don't need an excuse.' She raised her brows again.

At the implied _do you?_ in her look, Chuck felt his heart beat quicken. He'd never been able to resist a challenge. Probably, that was part of the reason Blair appealed to him so strongly.

Probably, it was part of the reason he hadn't been able to put their brief affair and even briefer relationship behind him. Yet.

'Neither do I,' he said, and lowered his head to kiss her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two – Santa Baby. **

Hardly daring to breathe, Blair watched as Chuck lowered his head. She wanted to touch him, to wrap her arms around him, to make sure he stayed with her for as long as she needed. But her arms were filled with her boring plain pumps, and her Responsible lawyer suite jacket, and her adorable little clutch, and so she settled for watching. And waiting. And needing.

This was crazy; she knew it. They'd agreed thins could never work between them, had mutually and amicably parted. But now … now all Blair wanted was Chuck. At least for as long as a mistletoe free kiss would last.

Was that really so wrong?

If it was, she didn't care. Not while the promise of a moment's reconnection lingered within reach. Not while Chuck brought his mouth nearer and nearer to hers, his arrestingly angled face and wicked dark eyes coming ever closer. In a perfect world, he was the Christmas gift Blair would have chosen. But since this world was flawed an early evening kiss would have to do.

At that moment, it would do quite nicely, too.

The warmth of his mouth reached her, preceding the touch of his lips by a heartbeat. Wanting, needing, Blair rose on her tiptoes. He motion carried her the last half inch between them. Their mouths met, just barely. Chuck drew in a breath – a gesture she recognized with giddy eagerness, since experience had taught her his hoarse inhalation meant their kiss was about to deepen – and Blair tightened her grasp on her things.

_Yes, yes, yes – _

A loud knocking came from the reception area.

_No, no – _

Chuck blinked like a man awakening from a long winter's nap, and raised his head.

_Oh, hell. _

The mood was broken. Unreasonably disappointed Blair lowered until her heels touched the carpet.

The knocking continued.

'The door to the reception area is locked after five o'clock.' Chuck's voice was husky. He cleared it. 'I'd better go see who that is.'

She nodded. He cast her a reluctant look and run a hand through his hair, calling her attention to the blunt, nimble shape of his fingers – and to the fact that those fingers wouldn't be tracing any of the familiar, fondly remembered paths her body seemed insistent on hoping for. Frowning, Blair tried to take comfort in the stick-your-head-out-the-window-of-a-moving-cab hairstyle his gesture had caused. It didn't work. Even rumpled and frustrated, Chuck looked incredible.

'I'll just slip out while the door is open, then.' _Which will be a lot safer for the both of us._ She strode ahead of him toward the reception area as though the devil himself were at her heels.

In as sense, he was, dressed in shades of uncertainty and packing the ability to make her lose her head over a simple kiss. Really, falling for Chuck all over again would only lead to disaster, Blair reminded herself. Already, she'd nearly forgotten the party tonight. Her friends would be waiting at Butter, drinks in hand and grins in place. They'd be the perfect remedy… for her stupidly susceptible heart.

'Uh-oh,' Chuck said from behind her.

'What's wrong?'

In the tastefully decorated reception area now, Blair looked past the front desk and upholstered client seating. Past the company's decorated artificial Christmas tree. She glimpsed a women standing in the elevator lobby beyond the glass wall and door.

Of average hight and slender build, the women was wearing a black and white maids uniform. As Blair watched the women raised and aimed another sensible-shoed kick at the front door.

She had to. She didn't have a hand free to knock in the traditional way. Her arms were filled with a molded plastic baby carrier – and it, Blair could see, was filled with a wriggling, kicking baby, judging by the pudgy fists and tiny booted feet visable above the padded rim.

'That's not 'Uh-oh'.' Wrinkling her brow, Blair glanced at Chuck, who'd caught up with her. 'That's a nanny.'

'And that's my baby cousin with her. What are they doing here at this hour?'

He punched the security code into the panel beside the door, then opened it with a greeting for the woman. Ten minutes later, Chuck was still carrying in assorted pastel baby paraphernalia: bags, blankets, a folded mesh thing Blair recognized as the same portable crib she had gotten for Jenny and Nate's baby girl. He stacked everything against the reception desk while the nanny, Milly, rushed inside.

In a practiced gesture, she balanced the baby carrier against one hip, hurrying past Blair. The two women passed in opposite directions: Milly intent on whatever had brought her to the office, Blair eager to leave Bass Industries behind.

A babyish babble came from the carrier. Blair hesitated. She dropped her clutch and things onto a nearby chair. Intrigued despite the peppermint martini that she was probably missing at that very minute, she peeked inside.

'Oh, what an adorable little outfit!' Fascinated, Blair leaned nearer, examining the baby girl's clothes. Her diminutive red corduroy jumper and Christmas green under-shirt were embroidered with gingerbread people, holiday stars, and nutcracker figurines. 'This is so Ralph Lauren Baby. How cute!'

'You think so?' Milly reached into the carrier and unfastened some mysterious-looking buckles and straps. She lifted the baby – Eloise was her name, Blair remembered – and cradled her against her chest. 'Here. Have a closer look.'

Then she bundled baby Eloise right into Blair's arms, blankets, boots, teeny baby clothes, and all, and went to speak with Chuck.

* * *

Hands on hips, Chuck surveyed the pile of baby stuff he'd created at the base of the reception desk. Someone, somewhere, had to be experiencing a serious shortage of pink plastic. There couldn't possible be any left over after the collection his Uncle Jack amassed for his one and only baby daughter.

He wondered if Amber, Jack's wife of eleven months and Chucks new aunt, ever got tired of living in a bubblegum colored world. If she did, it hardly would have mattered. Jack was a changed man the day Eloise entered the picture, he doted on his only child and seemed determined she have the best of every thing.

Apparently 'the best' only came in shades of Bubble Yum and Pepto-Bismal, cotton candy and Barbie pink.

'Mr. Chuck! Thank goodness you're here!' Milly tugged his shirt, her frantic energy leaping between them. He saw she no longer held the baby carrier. 'I've been going out of my mind! Mr. Bass and Miss Amber's flight has been snowed in, and mine leaves in under an hour, and you know how insane JFK will be at this time of year, and I don't know how I'm ever going to make it!'

'Okay, slow down –'

'You're third on the emergency contact list, but everyone else has already left town for the holidays. You're it!'

'I'm it? What do you –'

From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed movement. Blair walked carefully across the room, headed for the office Christmas tree. Holding six-month-old Eloise in her arms, she smiled down at the baby, gently cooing something about … nicely coordinated booties? Baby wear trends? The wearablilty of red corduroy? Shaking his head, Chuck refocused his attention on the nanny.

'Exactly what's the matter? Jack's flight got delayed?'

'Snowed in. In Switzerland.' Milly wrung her hands, flashing short, un-manicured nails. 'He and Miss Amber went for a ski trip with friends. They thought they'd be back by now, but their flights on hold until the storm lifts. And I've got a flight to Austin to visit my family in' – she consulted her watch – 'Fifty-six minutes.'

'But what about –'

'Eloise? That's where you come in, and not a moment too soon. I'm so glad you're here. I should have know I'd find you at work.'

The wry, knowing twist of her lips niggled at him. So what if he was at the office a lot? It wasn't a crime. But putting bells on a baby's booties should be, Chuck thought as Blair passed by again and the merry sound of the baby's accessories reached him. If Milly had been listening to that all day, no wonder she was rattled.

'Someone needs to take care of Eloise while I'm gone,' the nanny went on doggedly, 'and like I said, you're on the emergence contact list and Mrs Lilly and Mr Rufus are in Hamptons and Miss Serena and Mr Dan are still upstate. So you're it.'

'I didn't even know there was an emergency contact list,' Chuck confessed. 'Much less that I was on it.' But he was prepared to step up to the plate manfully. 'So how long before the my mother of sister get back? An hour or two? I can handle that.'

Semi-doubtfully he looked at Blair and Eloise again. What he saw reassured him. Now the woman he'd almost kissed a few minutes ago was sticking her tongue out and making silly faces for the baby. She looked gorgeous, lighthearted and playful. That baby was probably more fun then he realized, if she could distract Blair from the soiree she was obviously dressed to attended.

'Not an hour or two,' Milly said. 'A day or two and I can't stay.'

'A day?'

'Or two. Maybe, possibly, three. At the outside. These winter storms can be pretty –'

'Three? He swallowed. Hard. 'I've never – '

'Arrgh!' The nanny scrunched her hair in her hands looking frazzled. 'Please, Mr Chuck, Please take care of Eloise until her mom and dad get back. She's a breeze, I promise. You'll hardly notice her at all.'

'Well….' Chuck caught sight of Blair and the baby again. He heard a murmured, 'Very stylish holiday hair ribbion,' and smiled in spite of everything. Visually, Chuck measured Eloise's size. Maybe two feet tall, he estimated. Probably pretty easy to handle. Sort of like a football. He was pretty good with footballs. He'd played against Nate and his cousins growing up.

_No this is nuts._ 'I haven't had much experience with babies.' True, although he was a godfather twice over that job only really consisted of showing up for the christening and remembering to buy nice gifts at holidays.

'You're her cousin. You have a natural aptitude.' Milly insisted. 'Plus, I brought all of her things with me. Bottles, baby food, two jumbo packs of diapers, a crib, spare clothes, everything. You won't need so much as a can of Enfamil formula.'

Good thing. Because Chuck didn't even know what the hell that was.

As though she sensed him wavering, Milly picked up speed. 'I have all the contact information right here.' She pushed a pile of papers into his hands and started going over them. The flight itinerary for Mr Jack, phone numbers and hotel. Here's Eloise's schedule – just a rough estimate, of course. Babies don't exactly punch a time clock.

She laughed, as though the very thought were uproarious. Chuck wrinkled his nose and set the papers on the desk for safekeeping. Everything was happening so fast. All he'd wanted was a few days to get some work done, away from the holiday craziness everyone succumbed to at this time of year. Now he was … a baby-sitter?

To his left Blair began singing 'Holly Jolly Christmas' to Eloise. The soft sound of her voice soothed Chuck, too. He'd had no idea Blair was so enamored with babies. Or so adept with them.

'So you will do it?' Looking up at him, Milly bit her lip.

Her worried gaze penetrated the confusion surrounding him. 'Sure, I'll do it.'

'You will?' Milly whooped and hugged him. 'Thank you, Mr. Chuck. You won't regret this, I swear.'

Rapidly, the nanny reviewed a few more details with him. Then she said good-bye to Eloise, giving the baby a kiss. With accomplishment, Milly nodded toward the pink pileup, gave Chuck an enormous, grateful smile, and headed for the door.

There, she paused, a suddenly serious expression on her face. 'I wouldn't have asked if I didn't think you could handle it, you know. If you get stuck, just let your instincts guide you. You'll be terrific.'

Chuck wished he were as sure as Milly. He nodded reassuringly, though, and raised his hand in farewell.

'We'll be fine. I'll teach Eloise how to play tackle football or something. We'll stay busy.'

Frowning, the nanny hesitated.

'Kidding. Have a good trip.'

Milly scrunched her nose. She stepped onto the elevator blowing kisses to the baby.

'Merry Christmas!' Blair called. Smiling as she held the little girl, encouraging Eloise to uncurl her chubby baby fingers and wave bye.

Seconds later the doors closed behind the nanny. Silence fell, then was broken by the sound of Eloise babbling. Probably, 'Oogoo ogoo' was baby for 'good-bye.' Or maybe it was baby for 'Help! This guy's an amateur!' Chuck really didn't know.

Determined to think positively, he turned to Blair. At the same moment, she turned to him. Wearing a carefree look that could only be enjoyed by people whose plans went as they planned, she crossed the room. Carrying the baby, he couldn't help but notice, didn't strip any of the natural va-va-voom from her stride. She still managed to look like every fantasy he'd ever had, all rolled into one.

Before he could blink, his fantasy carefully slipped a cooing Eloise into his arms. His infant cousin pushed three fingers into her drooling mouth and preformed and aerial cha-cha with one foot. Jingle bells chimed. Babbling, Eloise gazed up at him.

'Well, I guess that's it.' Nearby, Blair had gathered her things and was pulling a cell phone from her glittery purse. She breezed toward the door, obviously intent on getting to the party. 'Good luck, Chuck. Byeee Eloise!'

She blew a kiss and opened the door. Panic swept over Chuck. At the same instant Eloise scrunched up her face and let loose a foghorn-size wail.

Stricken, he held the baby at arms length. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do. 'Wait!' He called to Blair just as she steeped into the elevator. 'You can't just leave me – leave us – like this!'

Blair shrugged. 'I don't see why not. I didn't agree to baby-sit, you did. Good Luck, Chuck. And Merry Christmas!'

**AN; Please review and let me know if you want me to continue. Chapter one had over 600 hits in one day and only 3 reviews in total, I'm taking that to mean that you all think this is crap. So if no one reviews I won't bother to update this. **

**Thanks for reading. **

**XOXO B**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three – Jingle Bells.**

Blair made it all of four steps out of the elevator before turning around and heading back up.

The baby's opening wail had become full-fledged crying – crying Chuck was obviously having trouble soothing. That didn't stop him from trying, though. Blair could see him earnestly speaking to his tiny cousin, probably telling her everything would be okay, the same way he had reassured Milly. Chuck really had become a stand up guy. And he was clearly out of his depth.

So, clearly, was Blair. Because if she was actually considering what she thought she she was considering –

No, she told herself. There was a Christmas margarita with her name on it waiting a few blocks away. She didn't want, she didn't need –

Beyond that glass, Chuck gingerly lifted Eloise. His elbows crooked to the side as he brought the baby nearer. With slow and reverent care, he kissed her forehead.

At the sight, Blair just …..melted.

Okay, so there was something about a big, macho guy cradling a baby that got to her, she admitted to herself. Especially if that big, macho guy was the fella she was still secretly in love with.

For a moment longer, Blair deliberated. Then, decisively, she dialed up her friend Hazel. Dismay twisted through her at the raucous sound of Butter in full holiday-gala mode crackled into the receiver.

She'd probably live to regret this. Her plans, since she'd decided not to brave the annual slog-through-the-airport Christmas craziness to visit her parents in Paris, had simply been to spend the season getting drunk, she would of course sober up for Christmas lunch at the Van Der Humphry's with her friends and their children, before partying her way into the new year. Now, those plans were about to change.

A few minutes later, Blair had finished telling Hazel to have fun at the party without her. She put away her cell phone and drew a deep breath. Then, with thoughts of that tender Chuck to Eloise kiss still whirling in her mind, she returned to the office.

At her entrance, Chuck turned his head. Trying to seem as though she had no doubts at all about this harebrained scheme, Blair slung her clutch, suite jacket, and spare shoes on the chair. Then she put her hands on her hips, surveying the out-of-control scene in front of her.

'All right, I'll help you,' she announced.

Chuck smiled. 'We both thank you, I'm sure.'

Seeing the relief in his face made Blair grin. Seeing Eloise turn her head – fat tears glistening under the fluorescent lighting – and perk up happily at the sound of her voice made her laugh out loud.

'After all,' Blair continued, rubbing the baby's little back, 'I figured you'll need someone around to make sure you don't zone out during the stock market report and try to give Eloise the remote control for a teething ring.'

Teething ring? Asked Chuck's blank expression. Shaking her head, Blair helped him hold Eloise more like a baby and less like a potentially terrifying sack of potatoes.

She might not know much about babies, but she did know nobody liked to be treated like and Idaho Russet.

Murmuring a soothing comment about Eloise's cute lacy socks, she wiped the tears from the baby's pink blotchy cheeks, then absently dried her fingers on her scarlet dress.

Chuck gazed thoughtfully at the damp prints near her hip. 'You'll miss your party.'

Blair made a dismissive sound. 'I've got more where that one came from,' she said, waving her hand. 'A holiday masquerade, two tree trimming party's, a cocktail party, dinner with Serena, Dan and our godson, Stella Archibald's December birthday party – apparently Jenny is going all out, and a Christmas eve brunch on Saturday. One event every night this week and two for Saturday. I figure it's practically a persons holiday duty to make the most of Christmas time.

In Chucks arms, Eloise gave a shuddering sigh. She yawned noisily, her tiny mouth a perfect o. Without seeming to think about it alt all Chuck rearranged his arms so he could strock his fingers over her silky blonde hair.

'You make the most of everything, and you know it. It's one of your charms.'

'and pointing out the obvious is one of yours.' Blair grinned. 'Holding babies however, is not. Not yet. Here, let me show you.'

With Chuck's help, she eased the baby into her own arms. 'You have to hold on tightly enough to be secure,' she explained, 'but loosely enough to protect your fragile load. It's kind of like…holding a new Valentino bag while the salesperson is hovering nearby. You follow?'

'Not really. Who's Valentino?'

'Ha, har.'

'Really. You want me to hold her like a purse?'

'Well that's how it was explained to me.'

'By who?'

'Serena. At Jenny's baby shower.' Serena had brought three-month old Conner and ever one was taking turns holding him.

'Oh, my darling sister. That explains a lot.' He teased.

When it came to the whole infant – cuddling thing Blair had been a newbie. Then. But Chuck didn't have to know that. And she sought of liked being an expert on something he valued. The glimmer of respect in his eyes made her secretly proud – and made up for the party she was missing, too.

Besides, Eloise was really adorable. Her wispy hair, her long lashes, her tiny curled fists. The baby instantly grasped her hand, seeming to take comfort in the contact.

On a pleased breath, Blair glanced up. Chuck was watching her…with a mysterious half-smirk that stopped her in her tracks.

'What is that look for?' she asked, feeling suddenly jittery. 'What are you –'

'It's for you,' Chuck said. 'You and Eloise.'

* * *

Chuck couldn't help but grin wider as Blair shook her head.

'Oh, no. No, you don't. You're not getting any crazy ideas are you? Like making me head baby-sitter? Because if you are-'

'Look at you,' he insisted. 'You're a natural. Eloise loves you.'

'I complimented her hair bow. Everyone likes someone who compliments them.'

'In that case…nice dress.'

'Nice try.'

'I mean it.'

He did. They both looked at the racy length of the scarlet hemline visible beneath Blair's armload of baby. Chuck's gaze traveled farther, all the way down her remarkable legs to those look-at-me shoes. He nodded. 'I really do.'

'Okay, I believe you. Physical attraction was never our problem. But despite that fact –'

'Have I mentioned how grateful I am for your help? Because I am. Thank you for coming back. I know how you hate to miss a party.'

Blair hesitated, as though unsure what to make of his remark. Then, she forged onward: 'You're welcome. But if you think you can sweet talk me into-'

'You must have some innate knack with babies,' Chuck continued. Just realizing it, he felt immensely cheered.

'Maybe it's in your genes, or your double X chromosomes or something, because-'

'Hold on a minute, buster. Did Neanderthal Man just grunt his way in here, or did I actually hear you hypothesize that just because I'm a women, I have some super-special baby-care ability?'

He shrugged. 'Maybe you do.'

Her glare gave him the distinct impression she was holding back a growl. Or possible a sequined clutch wallop. Backtracking seemed wise: 'Or maybe you've had some experience with babies. I mean you had dolls when we were kids.'

Her glacial look could have doused a flaming Yule log. The revelation behind it didn't do much for Chuck's meager sense of baby-care confidence, either.

'But Valentino bag baby-holding instructions,' he protested, gesturing to her very comfortable grip on Eloise. 'The teething ring thing. The-' he stopped and raked a hand through his hair, then squinted at her. 'The general baby-style expertise surrounding you….I don't-'

At the word expertise, she brightened. Past the point of being misled by such a display, Chuck continued: 'You mean to tell me you know nothing about babies?'

Blair drew herself up. 'So far I know more then you.'

'That's not saying much. Everyone knows more then me.'

'Well, what did you expect? She asked. 'However, I am willing to help you. For tonight. So that's a start.'

'For tonight?' This just got better and better. Milly had said that Jack and Amber's flight could be delayed up to three days. Maybe longer. ''I might be taking care of her all week? Until Christmas eve.'

She glance down, cooing at the baby. 'Isn't he lucky, to have you all week? It'll be fun!'

Blair's smile, when she looked up at Chuck again, was brilliantly cheery. She angled her body a little away from him. Through clenched teeth, she added, 'Ixnay on the arguing, okay? It isn't good for Eloise.'

'See?' Frustration made Chuck pace a few steps across the reception area, then back. 'I didn't know that!'

'Okay, calm down. Just because I'm not an Au Pair in disguise doesn't mean we can't handle this together.'

He stopped pacing. Gave he a no-nonsense look. 'Are you sure you don't know about babies? Didn't you have a–a doll or something when you were a kid?'

Wearing a patient look, she shook her head.

'We're doomed.'

'I did have Barbie's,' Blair ventured.

New hope rose within him.

'But of course, with Barbie the whole appeal is really just shopping and wowing Ken and the gang with fab new outfits, isn't it?'

He stared.

'It's not the same as pretend bottle-feeding a baby wets-a-lot. Not really.'

Her blithe, knowledgeable tone sucked him in yet again. 'What's the difference?' he asked cautiously.

'Well, cute pink, plastic Barbie heels, for one thing. Did you know her feet are permanently on tiptoes?'

Chuck gaped at her. She seemed perfectly content with the situation as it was. Probably because caring for Eloise wasn't really her responsibility. As he shook his head, Blair caught sight of the gesture.

'Come on,' she said quietly. 'What did you expect when you asked me to help? That I'd magically morph into Marry Poppins?'

He gave her a blank look.

'You mean you've never seen Mary Poppins? Boy, is your cinematic history lacking.'

Chuck was reminded of those differences in perspective that had precipitated the end of their initial fling. Forcing himself to concentrate on the issue at hand, he said, 'We're getting off track here. I need a commitment from you –'

'Now there's a switch'

'- to help that care of Eloise this week, or this isn't going to work. I need to know I can count on you to help get the job done.'

'Sheesh. All business, aren't you?'

He waited. There really wasn't any reply to that anyway.

'But then I should expect that,' Blair muttered. Drawing in a deep breath, she gazed at the Christmas tree in the corner for a thoughtful moment. 'Yes, I'll help you. of course. Otherwise I wouldn't be here.'

'You commit? All week?'

'What is this, the inquisition? I said I'd help!'

'I'm not fooling around with Eloise's well-being. I might not know much, but I know I care about that baby.'

Blair blinked. Her gaze, when she turned it on him again, looked suspiciously moist. 'Do you mean that?'

Chuck was aggravated she had to ask. 'Of course.'

'Awww. That's so sweet. Chuck Bass all protective, who knew.'

'Don't go spreading it around. I know some things about you, too.'

She gasped. 'You wouldn't!'

Nodding, Chuck gave her his most dangerous smirk. 'I would. Limo's, the way you purrr..'

'Okay, okay. So you know stuff, none of that is a crime?'

It wasn't. But he had her, and Chuck knew it.

She sighed. A moment passed.

Blair shook her head. 'We've got to be the two least likely people in the universe to take care of a baby.'

Her words were less then encouraging. But they were a concession. She was going to help. He felt some of the tension ease from his shoulders.

'Maybe the second-to-last least likely. We definitely beat out people who glare at babies on airplanes.'

A ghost of a smile quirked her lips. She smoothed a wrinkle from Eloise's tiny dress with utmost care. Her voice was small when she spoke. 'I hope we can do it.'

'We can do it,' Chuck assured her. 'Together we can do anything.'

Her head came up. A hit of sadness darkened her eyes – sadness it hurt him to see. He'd have bet anything in the world they were thinking the exact same thing; Anything ….except stay together.

Their gazes held; deepened. Chuck couldn't bring himself to look away. He and Blair were the same two people who'd loved ….and lost, years before. They were the same two people who had been too different to really come together, for keeps. But now – now Eloise had brought them together.

She was a tiny Christmas surprise, too small to understand the impact her arrival might have. Chuck understood it, though. And in spite of himself …he hoped. Hoped things might be different this time, that things might change somehow.

Did Blair hope, too?

Looking at her, he couldn't tell. Even as the question crossed his mind, she blinked and looked away. Balancing Eloise on one hip, she picked up the schedule Milly had left.

'We'd better get going,' she said, 'According to this it's past her dinnertime.'

'I suppose a nice thick T-bone is too much to ask for?'

'she's a baby, not a beagle.'

With a shrug, Chuck began deconstruction the pink pileup for Arthur, his driver to take down to the car. 'Hey, a guys got to hope.'

And that he realized as he considered the days ahead of him, was exactly what he was doing. He just couldn't help it. He hoped for him and Blair, together.

For Keeps.

**AN; Pretty please with a candy cane on top review, if you hate it tell me, if you think it is lacking – offer suggestions…. Please just please let me know people are ready this, because it is kind of draining to write. **

**Thanks in advance, **

**Xoxo B **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four – Dreaming of a white Christmas.

She still hadn't outgrown her hope – her belief – that Christmastime could magically make things happen, Blair realized as she wrestled with a jar of strained peas at the wet bar of Chuck's suite later that night.

Despite being twenty-eight fun-filled years old, she still harbored a girlish belief that the holidays brought a special measure of goodwill and cheer, hopefully wrapped in a Tiffany's box. And her recent trip between the office and the Palace Hotel had done nothing to change her mind.

Even as he'd insisted it was his suite they go to because 'cousin' trumps 'fashion adviser', Blair had felt herself weakening towards him. Even as he'd insisted she meet them there with a change of clothes and spend the night, Blair had wondered where – exactly – he planned for her to sleep. And even as Chuck had insisted, upon her arrival that they'd keep things strictly baby-based between them, Blair had began hoping, secretly, this was their gift-wrapped second-chance-in-disguise.

Chuck, however, didn't seem to be feeling any of the same mushy, gushy things she was. He sat on the floor with Eloise on a baby blanket in front of him, surrounded by pink-hued supplies and frowning at the opened bad o disposable diapers. While she watched, he snatched a third folded diaper and deftly opened it.

He looked from the diaper to the squirming baby. Eloise gave him a two toothed grin, her good cheer probably related to her relief at having gotten rid of the dirty diaper she'd produced upon their arrival. Now, bare-bottomed and filled with energy, she clapped her hands and babbled.

'I knew I should have looked closer at the original diaper before taking it off,' Chuck muttered. He looked at Eloise. 'Any hints?'

The baby kicked. Jingle bells jangled merrily.

'Right. Well, maybe if you don't unfold it this time.'

He reached for another diaper, looking adorably perplexed and even more adorably determined. Really, paring a hunky man with a cute, cuddly baby shouldn't be allowed. Especially around susceptible single women.

Because while wearing his clothes and ruffled-up hair, and while biting his lip in concentration, Chuck was somehow more appealing to Blair then he ever had been before.

Still, she couldn't let him struggle. No matter how charming he might look while doing it. Refusing yet another party invitation, Blair hung up her phone and called to Chuck.

'There are directions on the side of the bag,' she offered. 'Maybe you should read them.'

He looked at her as though she'd suggested he gift wrap himself and go caroling wearing nothing but a big red bow. Which actually, now that she thought of it sounded kind of sexy. Would he look best in red velvet or green-

'I don't need to read the directions.'

'Suit yourself.' She shrugged. _Definitely green satin,_ Blair decided with a wicked little tingle. It would coordinate so nicely with his dark hair. 'I'll just be over here fixing the portable high chair, uh thingie.'

His eyebrows raised. A small smile crooked his lips. 'Thingie? Is that a technical?'

'It is as long as you're taping that diaper to your fingers.'

'Touché.'

Grinning, Blair successfully opened the strained peas. They were the color of the clearance rack winter suite and would probable be just as hard to unload. She carried them at arms length around Chuck's pristine mahogany bar, and then set to work hooking the infant seat to its edge.

Several minutes later, she'd wrestled the thing into submission. Proudly, she brushed off her hands and surveyed her work. As she did, Chuck approached. Her awareness of him hadn't changed a bit. She could still detect his body heat at fifty paces. _Damn it._ Obviously her libido was a slow learner.

He cocked his head, studying the infant seat. Suddenly vulnerable, Blair braced herself for the inecitable teasing.

'Nice work.' He said.

Her mouth dropped open. Before she could so much as quit gaping in surprise, he'd turned to fetch Eloise. Chuck returned with the baby in his arms. He effortlessly assessed the engineering of the infant seat and strapped his cousin in.

'You've got a knack for that,' Blair told him.

He smiled over his shoulder. She felt an answering grin edge onto her own lips, prompted by the cozy feeling they shared. Maybe this would work after all, she thought. Maybe they wouldn't drive each other crazy by Christmas eve.

Naturally, that was when she noticed it: The problem.

* * *

Chuck had seated himself in a chair beside Eloise and had coaxed the baby into opening up for her first bite of…well, it looked a lot like mush, when Blair spoke.

'Where are your Christmas decorations?' she asked. Her tone was like that of a department store Santa who'd just realized his assistant 'elves' had gone on strike. Amazement wrapped in dismay pretty much summed it up.

'Don't have any,' he said, giving Eloise another spoonful. She stuck out her tongue, making the goo that passed for dinner squish onto her chin. 'I usually spend Christmas out of the country.'

'But, but…'

'No need to decorate.' He shrugged. 'I get all the holiday feeling a guy could want from my mother and sister. They always send Christmas baskets.'

Blair gazed around her, taking in the generic suite. To judge by her expression, there was something seriously wrong with the master suite, with its beautiful décor and 18th floor view of midtown Manhattan – and walls devoid of Christmas cheer. Obviously, she'd been hoping for _It's a wonderful life_ and had gotten _Scrooged_ instead.

She shook her head. 'This simply won't do.'

'What do you – aaack!'

Eloise giggled over the baby raspberry that had just spewed strained peas all over his head and shoulders. As he wiped away the ooze, Chuck spotted Blair purposefully texting away on her cell phone. Mostly goo free now, he repeated, 'What do you mean?'

'I mean this won't do. Not for you, and especially not for Eloise. How's she supposed to have a happy holiday week, when your suite looks like something out of Architectural Digest?'

He brightened

She shook her head. 'It's so minimalist in here, the entire Macy's Christmas department could explode in your living room and it would still look under decorated.'

'Hey!'

'It's not Eloise's fault she's stuck here for her very first pre-Christmas holiday week ever. And it's not fair to penalize her with your festivity challenged idea of 'decorating.'

Completely in earnest, Blair gave the baby a sorrowful look. 'Don't worry, baby girl. You either Chuck, I've got a solution.' She plucked a pair of manicure scissors from her bag. 'Now I can't get anything here until the morning – so much for the city that never sleeps – so until then do you have any plain white paper.

'In the office.' He angled his head toward one of the two closed doors. 'Help yourself.'

Blair already on her way, answering yet another call as she did. Bemused Chuck used the baby spoon to corral some runaway peas and nudge them into the baby's mouth again. This time, she smacked her lips in apparent delight and swallowed the whole mess. Hey, that was progress.

Humming 'Jolly Old Saint Nicholas,' Blair returned to the bar, sans cell phone. Probably, she'd turned down yet another party invitation, he decided. Impressive. The sheaf of paper she'd retrieved fluttered as she set it on the table beside the scissors. With an air of complete absorption, she dragged a stool closer and got down to work.

Between offering Eloise bites of chicken with noodles, Chuck sneaked glances as Blair The light glowed over her as she folded and creased and cut. The atmosphere seemed to settle into embrace her … all over again. Remembrances of other times in this room, together, reached out to Chuck.

Self-protectively, he angled his shoulders. Still, the sounds of snipping competed with the gibbering conversation he and his baby cousin had. Eloise could understand many more words then she could pronounce, he discovered as dinnertime progressed. And as the contents of the baby-food jars dwindled, he realized he felt more at ease with his new responsibility with each passing moment.

He'd spent time with Eloise, of course. As he had with his god-children, the fun uncle who brings large, loud gifts and coos sweetly to his sister Serena that his nephew Conner really was the most handsome baby he'd ever seen and sit with his mother, baby Stella on his knee while his step sister took photo after photo. But never alone; never for hours at a stretch. Getting to know Eloise now was actually turning out to be fun.

She bashed he palms straight downward, sending a chicken noodle covered infant spoon sailing into the air. It landed, naturally, on Chuck's head. Okay, so make that messy fun. He plucked out the spoon. Scrapped away a few squashed noodles. Made a goofy face at Eloise.

She giggled.

His heart expanded. Awestruck by the sensation, Chuck paused, his fingers still clutching the noodles.

At the same moment, he realized the snip-snip of the scissors had stopped. Slowly, he turned his head.

Blair sat motionless across from him, scissors slack. A half clipped square dangled from her hands. She was watching him as though … as though she was a poor little girl with a mile-long Christmas list and he were the grandest toy in the FAO Schwarz store window, all wrapped up in ribbons and bows. It was a look filled with a certain sense of revelation. A look so compelling, so needful, it was all he could do not to launch himself over the bar and explore the feelings behind it.

She blinked. Her expression changed. Moving carefully, Blair put the scissors on the table. Then she said the last thing he ever expected to hear from her;

'I'm not sure I can do this.'

Eloise turned her head, as though understanding something important had happed. Lamplight gleamed of the clump of smashed peas drying in her hair.

'Sure you can.' Chuck said. He wanted to reach across for her hand, wanted to make Blair smile away the sudden downturned lips. 'You have to. You agreed, at the Inquisition. One hundred percent commitment. Yes, sir!'

He mimicked a military salute. At that, she did smile. But wryly, like a women who'd just strapped on her costume wings, only to spot another winter angle at the Christmas maaquerade. There wasn't much real humor in that smile, but there was a tinge of worry.

'What's the matter?' he asked, seriously.

'You. Me.' Blair waved her hands, making paper flutter around her. 'Us together. Are we nuts to even try this?'

'Possible.' His reply was punctuated with Eloise babble. Keeping his expression neutral, he began post dinner baby clean up duty. 'But I'm glad you're here, anyway.'

'Really?'

'Really. Otherwise, I'd have no one to share the yummy leftovers with.' He tilted his head toward the baby-food jars.

She snorted. Then she looked at him again exactly at the same time as Chuck looked at her. The smile they shared next started out slowly. Then, as Blair seemed to gather strength from it, it blossomed into a full-blown synchronized grin. One that, miraculously, chased away a teeny, barely noticeable, out-of-the-way corner of Chuck's usual Christmas season discontentment.

'Okay!' Blair said. 'I'm in, no matter what. No more second thoughts.'

As if in demonstration of that new philosophy, she let her gaze rove over him, frankly appreciative despite his bedraggled business clothes and baby food – plastered hair. She raised her eyebrows. 'After all, I always did like living dangerously.'

So did he, Chuck decided. Because heartbreak loomed on the other side of that come-hither look of hers – heartbreak he'd already experienced once. And he was still here, wanting more Blair. Her companionship eased him in ways he'd rarely experienced .. and wound him up in ways he couldn't help but feel again, now.

'Living dangerously, huh?' He rose to rinse the bar towel he'd used to clean up Eloise's cherubic, noodle-covered face. As he passed, he glanced down at the array o white shapes Blair had created. 'That's good. Because if you're doing what I think you're doing, you're dangerously close to some renegotiating. With me.'

AN; There you have it chapter four. Hope you enjoyed it. I had a question about why I refer to Lilly as Chuck's mom and Serena as his sister instead of step -, well that is because Lilly adopted Chuck as her own son, making him legally hers. I think the show's writers are doing themselves a real injustice by not using more of this storyline. I can't tell you how many times I have thought to myself 'this would be a great moment for some Lilly/Chuck, mother/son bonding, like Lilly and Rufus's wedding for instance.

Anyway, would really love some reviews…

Xoxo B


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five – Mr. Grinch**

'Renegotiating?' Blair asked. 'What kind of renegotiating?'

She lunged upward from her chair and followed Chuck to the sink. Behind her, Eloise used her spoon on bang on the bar, but Blair couldn't concentrate on the exuberant rhythm. Instead, her mind was filled with thoughts of Chuck – and what he could possibly have meant by that ominous, Scrooge-like _renegotiating_ remark.

'Well, for starters,' he told her offhandedly, 'I think you should stop with the paper snow flakes.'

Blair gaped at him.

'That is what you've been doing, isn't it?' she nodded. How could she be falling (all over again) for a Scrooge? She, a women who loved Christmas trees and candy canes and stockings by the chimney and milk and cookies for Santa-

She nodded. Then folded her arms defiantly over her middle as she trailed him back around the bar. 'Yes paper snowflakes to go on those big windows of yours.'

His lips quirked. She frowned and straightened her spine.

'It's the best I can do until I can get to a store. And if you don't like it – '

Suddenly, Chuck rotated to face her. Blair all but skidded to a stop, nearly nose to nose with him. Wearing an expression somewhere between amused and affectionate, he shook his head.

'I didn't mean I wanted you to stop all together,' he said. 'I meant I want you to wait until you can show me how to make them, too.'

'Me? Show you? Paper snowfla…'

'Mmm- hmm.'

'But I thought –'

'I know you did.' And at that, he actually burst into song.

'You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch,' Chuck sang in a deep cartoon-y voice. He pointed to himself, eyes shining with humor, as he went on. 'You really are a heel…'

'Oooh!' Blair walloped him over the head with a snowflake in progress. Unfortunately, it didn't stop his singing

Eloise clapped her hands and bounced in her infant seat, excited by her cousin's antics. Waggling his eyebrows at Blair, Chuck sang as he finished cleaning up the baby, comically exaggerating every verse. When he'd finished, Eloise was free to crawl across her blanket to await a bath, and Blair was more certain than ever she'd gotten in over her head.

She actually thought Chuck looked charming as he sang.

'That was my favorite Christmas song as a kid.'

'I remember.'

'I can't believe I remembered all the words.' He shook his head. 'Its been years since I sang at Christmas. Don't know why I did now…'

For an instant, he hesitated. He frowned, troubled.

'Eloise seemed to enjoy it.' Blair couldn't help but smile over the memory of big, tough Chuck Bass singing to his baby cousin. 'So did I,' she added under her breath.

'What's that?' he leaned nearer. Grinning now, he cupped one hand over his ear. 'Didn't quite hear you.'

'I said I enjoyed your singing!'

'That's what I thought.'

Just like that he was back – the same sure, sexy, satisfied man she was accustomed to. For a moment there, Blair had wondered if he really was troubled by Christmastime. His hesitation, his frown… But then she'd realized no one could possible make it through an entire holiday season without at least humming a Christmas song. Chuck had to have been teasing.

She hoped. Otherwise, he needed some serious de-Scrooge-ifying. And he needed it fast.

'So will you? Show me how to make these?' he asked, nodding toward the paper snowflakes on the table. 'I know I've done it before, but you obviously remember better then I do. And it looks like fun.'

He looked like fun. More lightheaded than Blair could remember. Less businesslike, more open. And that, more than anything else, was the reason she agreed.

'After Eloise's bath,' she said. It was time to roll up their sleeves… and get wet.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Blair and Chuck were both drenched. They knelt beside the bathtub, Blair in she sodden red dress and Chuck in his drippy shirtsleeves staring in amazement at the tint charge.

Eloise splashed. They ducked, each retaining a now-practiced hold on the baby's slippery body. As the bathwater slid across the vintage white honeycomb tiles behind them, they straightened.

'What was in that dinner?' Blair asked, wide-eyed.

Umm, mush. It shouldn't have had this' – he dodged a flying rubber ducky – 'effect on her.'

'The Grinch song, then?'

'Hey!'

'Maybe the mini shampoo Mohawk we made in her hair?'

Chuck shook his head. 'She liked it. Besides, we rinsed it out right away –'

'After taking that cute snapshot.' Blair hadn't been able to resist. Eloise had looked adorable with her wispy hair sticking straight up.

'- and I can't imagine a simple hairstyle affecting someone that strongly.'

Blair could. Obviously he'd never gone for a desperate postbreakup shearing and emerged looking like Howdy Doody.

'Well, something's happened,' she told him. 'She hasn't been this wiggly all day.'

Eloise giggled and lunged forward like an Olympic diver going for a perfect ten in the Mr. Bubble meter. Chuck, who had one arm across her shoulders caught her just in time.

'This baby,' he said, 'has no concept of her own inabilities.'

'Neither did we, when we agreed to baby-sit.'

But they were doing pretty well, Blair figured. They'd tag-team on the bathing, one of them holding Eloise steady while the other washed, then switching. Now the whole bathroom smelled pleasantly of baby shampoo, and Eloise was squeaky clean.

Whenever they tried to take her out of the tub, though, she cried. The baby's scrunched-up, disappointed face as she was lifted from the bubbles was the saddest thing Blair had ever seen.

'We'll have to distract her,' Chuck said. 'I'll sing while you let out the water. Once it's gone…'

'Uh-uh. She'll be scared. When I was a little girl, watching the water go down the drain terrified me. I was sure it was going to suck me right down with it.'

'Maybe Eloise has a better grasp of physics than you did.'

'Har, har.'

'Well, she's obviously to big to…oh, hell. Never mind. I can tell by looking at you. You'd sooner hammer nails with those stilettos of yours then risk scaring the baby.'

Blair nodded. 'So would you, and you know it.'

'I generally hire someone for my hammering needs, but..'

'Be serious. She's getting pruney.'

They thought about it for a minute, while Eloise splashed happily with the bath toys Milly had left. Just when Blair had begun to think they'd have to risk another bout of loud baby misery, an idea occurred to her.

'I've got it,' she said, snapping her fingers. Then she left Eloise in Chuck's care and headed for the living room.

Left alone with Eloise, Chuck observed his baby cousin carefully. Then, experimentally, he grasped beneath her slick little arms and raised her a few inches from the water.

Her shriek reverberated from the walls with all the force of a jet screaming overhead.

Immediately, he lowered her back into the bathwater.

'It's all right, Eloise, I didn't mean it.'

She cooed and went back to playing. Hoilding her, Chuck eyeballed the towels on the bar to his right. They looked wonderful. Fluffy, dry, thick, dry. And dry. Grezz, what wouldn't he give to shuck off his soggy clothes and retreat to his office for a few minutes, fortifying, productive work.

He tried sharing his views with the baby. 'But wouldn't it feel nice to be dry? All cozy and warm and…'

'No dice.' Blair said from the doorway, flipping her cell phone closed. Again. 'if looking forward to future rewards really worked, nobody would need a Platinum card. We'd all have enough savings to buy everything we wanted.'

She looked momentarily dreamy, as though new shoes equaled nirvana.

'Interesting economic theory. So we're all just one pair of shoes away from financial solvency?'

'In a sense. It depends on the shoes.' She grinned, rising up on her bare tiptoes. She must have abandoned her heels in the other room. 'Now, back to the baby.'

Smiling at the baby, Blair drew something from behind her back. Instantly, Eloise quit splashing. Her infant gaze locked on the thing in Blair's hand, and she held out both arms.

'Agoo!' she squealed 'Agoo!'

Chuck glanced backward to see what it was. Because without a doubt, 'Agoo' had to be the coolest thing ever to have elicited such a reaction.

'It's a book.'

Blair nodded. 'Pat the Bunny. It was the rattiest looking thing in her bag. That means it's the most loved.'

Aww, Chuck thought. Obviously, despite what Blair had said earlier, he wasn't the only 'big mushball at heart' around here.

'Agoo! Agoo!' Eloise insisted.

Blair held it enticingly out of reach. 'After you're all dried off, little Eloise. Then we'll read a story.'

It worked. Effortlessly… and without the waterworks this time… Chuck pulled the baby from the bath. Blair helped him bundle her into a towel to dry off, then took over with a miniature soft brush to style Eloise's hair. Within minutes, his tiny cousin was diapered and dressed in her candy-cane print pajamas with her favorite blanket in hand.

'I can't believe that worked,' he said.

Sitting on the sofa now with Eloise in her lap and the Bunny book in hand, Blair shrugged.

'Bait and switch. It always seems to work with Bass's. I think it's goof to go, completely classic,' she smirked.

'All you did was bribe Eloise into getting out of the tub.'

Blair made a dismissive sound. 'Exactly what do you call a miniskirt and a bottle of 5 year old scotch? Hummm?'

He scrunched his forehead, thinking. 'A leg man's lucky day?'

She rolled her eyes and opened the book.

He stopped. Looked over his shoulder. Raised his brows. All of a sudden he couldn't wait for the next time she needed something from him.

* * *

Chuck emerged after his shower with damp, finger-combed dark hair, a fresh shave, and killer abs that teased Blair for the briefest moment while he pulled on his silk pajarma shirt. Wearing it along with matching silk pants that rode low on his hips, he came toward the sofa. Upon spotting Eloise on Blair's lap, though, he stopped.

'Is she asleep?' he asked, look hopeful.

Blair nodded. 'I think so. I'm afraid to move and risk waking her up.'

The baby felt sweetly heavy in her arms, trusting and relaxed. The pat the Bunny book lay on the sofa beside them, abandoned after much patting and giggling.

'Also,' Blair added, 'my left arm is asleep. It feels like it belongs to someone else. Someone in another time zone.'

Chuck grinned. At the sight, she felt her middle turn an excited somersault. In the dim room, with Eloise peacefully settled, Blair suddenly felt all-too aware of her impending alones with him…and of her complete lack of a strategy to deal with it. She needed one, too.

But before she could formulate anything to bolster her heart against the lure of his caring, his intelligence, his good humor, Chuck went and did something that endeared him to her even more. He set up the portable crib , set up the baby monitor, arranged everything in his bedroom, and then returned to gently retrieve Eloise from her arms. With an obvious tenderness, he carried the baby to bed.

Moments later, he returned. 'She wiggled when I put her down, so I waited to make sure she was still asleep. If she wakes up later' he raised the monitors receiver 'we'll have this.'

'Good.' Think of something besides his naked chest, Blair ordered herself. Something besides his tight abs. Something besides the way he's looking at you right now, as though…as though he's thinking of you naked, too! She jerked upright.

'We'd better get busy,' she said, getting to her feet.

'I was thinking exactly the same thing,' Chuck replied, stepping closer. 'I've been looking forward to this all night. Our time. You. Me. Together. Alone at last.'

Blair gulped. He looked so good. Sounded so good. Felt so right, as he drew nearer and nearer. If Chuck decided to kiss her again, she didn't think she'd have the necessary bravado to pretend it wouldn't affect her. In the office earlier, her knees had nearly buckled when he'd accepted her dare, and they hadn't even gotten to finish their kiss!

She'd spent years trying to get over him. Years trying to convince herself they were better off apart.

Now after only a single evening together, her tough mental discipline had disintegrated to…to this. Faced with him, Blair felt like a dieter staring down the Christmas deserts. When it came to her, Chuck Bass was the original glazed yams of temptation.

'Come on.' He held out his hand. 'We have unfinished business to attend to.'

**AN/ Thank you to those who reviewed. Hope you enjoyed the speedy update. Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Xoxo B **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six – It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Geez, Blair was skittish all of a sudden, Chuck thought. He watched as she taped a paper snowflake to the window, then stood back to judge the effect against the shimmering lights outside. She hadn't sat still for more then two minutes at a time. Not since he'd held out his hand to her and mentioned their 'unfinished business.'

He'd been referring to the paper-snowflake-cutting lessons she'd promised him of course. But Blair's shocked expression when he'd explained as much has sent him on another course. One of wondering what she'd been thinking of.

Could it be possible Blair had been hoping for… more? More closeness, more intimacy, more from the reunion they'd stumbled into? He didn't know, and he….

Her cell phone rang. With a practiced gesture she answered it. After a few seconds, Chuck heard the same gentle refusal she'd been giving all night.

'Nope, sorry. I'm busy tonight. Out of commission.' A pause. 'Probably all week, actually. Maybe I'll see you on Christmas eve?'

A few more nods, some chitchat as she applied extra tape to a snowflake on the window. Then Blair said good-bye. This time, before flipping her phone closed and putting it away, she turned it off.

Chuck stared. He'd never known Blair to deliberately cut herself off from potential socializing. Seeing her voluntarily check out oh her social whirl was like seeing Santa turn up clean-shaven and buffed-up unthinkable.

Seeing Blair now, so close and still so far away, made him realize how much he'd missed her. She'd been wonderful with Eloise. He still didn't understand some of her reasoning's, like the her Barbie philosophy, but Chuck couldn't dispute her surprising effectiveness. Blair unfailingly managed to cheer up his cousin, to comfort her and bring a smile to her chubby little face. Watching the two of them together was enlightening.

So was watching her transform his windows.

A few feet away from his position as the bar, Blair steeped away from the window with a flourish. 'What do you think?'

He examined the paper blizzard. 'I think it's terrific. Very Christmassy.'

She beamed.

'And I think you should come over here, like you promised and help me .' Chuck raised the paper and scissors in his hands. 'My snowflakes keep falling apart.'

She bit her lip. She hesitated. Then she cautiously took a seat.

He dragged her chair closer. Their shoulders touched.

In response, Blair jerked. She laughed nervously.

'It's been a long time since we were alone,' she said.

'Believe me. I know.'

Her gaze lifted. Something sparked between them, something familiar and intoxicating. Something sweeter then Christmas cookies, spicier then cinnamon sticks, brighter than a star. For some reason, the song 'I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus,' spiraled through his head. Chuck looked around for some mistletoe.

Blair spoke. 'I've been thinking. Since we're going to be together for the next few days, we should have some kind of game plan. Something to keep us on the straight and narrow.'

'The straight and narrow? Nah. It's overrated. I just decided.'

'I mean, something to keep us apa….' She paused. Regrouped. 'Busy as possible.'

'Busy.' He waggled his eyebrows teasingly. 'I like the sound of that. Busy doing what?'

Kissing leaped to mind. So did caressing, talking, laughing, snuggling beneath a nice toasty blanket, making up for lost time….

'Making a really wonderful pre-Christmas week for Eloise,' Blair said. 'Showing her lots of neat holiday stuff, getting a Christmas tree, decorating…'

Confused, Chuck gestured toward the window.

'There are lots of Christmas things we haven't even touched yet. The tree in Rockefeller Center. Visiting Santa. The Macy's Christmas windows. Shopping for gifts.' She brightened, sitting up straighter. 'I'll bet I can find just the right thing for you!'

Gift shopping. Oh, no. Like a reindeer facing a foggy Christmas eve without Rudolph, he froze. It wasn't that he didn't want to find great gifts for the people he cared about. He did. It was just that … well. He was terrible at actually doing it. And Chuck hated doing anything he wasn't good at.

'Do you have' – he swallowed hard – 'a wish list, or something?'

Blair waved her hand. 'Oh, you don't have to get me anything!'

Oh yes he did. No man was idiot enough to buy into that line. At least Chuck wasn't. 'I want to.'

She smiled. Seeing her happiness, he really, really wanted to.

'Let's concentrate on Eloise for now,' Blair said. 'Okay? While I was decorating the windows, I came up with a list of holiday things we could do together. Lets see….'

Forging onward with tinsel-bright enthusiasm, she ticked off one Christmas-related activity after another. Chuck's head swam with visions of evergreens and flashing lights and fruitcake and stockings and…

'Pin the nose on Rodolph?' he asked, raising his brows.

'It'll be fun! I promise. So, are we in agreement?'

'To give Eloise the best pre-Christmas week ever?'

She nodded, eyes shining.

'Sure. Why not?' Grinning, Chuck picked up his paper snowflake, which looked more like a deranged doily, and set to work again. 'If we're lucky, I might even remember more Christmas carols to sing.'

'On second thought…'

'Hey!'

'Kidding.'

They both smiled, cozily together amid the drifts of paper scraps. Then, with a businesslike are, Blair grabbed a fresh sheet of paper. Folding and cutting rapidly as she spoke, she said, 'Here's how you make a snowflake. You cut here, fold here, cut some here, unfold and…voila!'

'Voila?' But his hadn't even…

'Voila.' Covering her mouth with her hand, Blair yawned noisily. Her chair scrapped as she stood. 'Well, I'm tired. It's off to bed with me. Here I go I'll just get some linens and a blanket from the closet. No, don't get up. I remember where everything … I mean, everybody stores spare bedding in the closet, don't they?'

He gaped after her. Before he could so much as stand to help make up her temporary bed, Blair had outfitted the sofa like a vintage four-poster and was rummaging through her overnight bag.

'I should have offered you the bed.' Chuck paused a hand through his hair, watching her. 'But now with Eloise sleeping in there…'

'That's okay. I don't mind.' She straightened, something pink and flimsy in her hand.

At the sight of it, Chuck's interest…and interested parts of him…perked up. 'Okay. Thanks.'

Blair turned 'I don't mind that you didn't offer. I was going to take it anyway.' She smirked. 'See you in the morning, Chuck. Sweet dreams.'

He lingered, imagined the slide of that delicate pink fabric against his skin as she come to him, imagined the wondrous impact of Blair's body joining with his as he stripped it away. She would smile when he looked at her, the way she always did. He would –

'Do you want me to turn out the light for you?' She turned away. Not quite smiling. Disappointed, frustrated with his own inability to resist her, Chuck just nodded.

It wasn't until he reached the end of the sofa – and heard Blair sigh – that he realized that he wanted to follower her. He smiled. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for them yet.

* * *

Alone in the dark, Blair finished shedding her clothes. She cast them aside. Pulled her pink night shirt over her head. And sighed. Two conflicting thoughts assailed her:

Whew! That was close.

I wish Chuck had followed me.

Not that his leaving her alone wasn't what she'd intended, all along. It was. After all, being alone with him would only make her want him more. It would only make her wish for more, only make her hope Christmas contained enough magic to overcome their differences. And that was ridiculous, wasn't it?

All Chuck was interested in was work. Work, work, work. Not her, not life, not fun. When she'd entered his office to get the paper earlier, Blair had realized immediately his workaholic ways hadn't changed a bit. Architectural plans still littered every available surface, interspersed with contracts and out dated wall street journals. Awards lined the walls, evidence of his dedication.

Signs of anything non-work-related had been nonexistent, and not just in Chuck's office. His whole suite seemed a testament to how little tie he spent there … bare walls, spotless functional furniture, no embellishments save framed family photos and a few plants. Probably, Blair thought as she turned over in his bed, Lilly had put the photo's up and he hired a service to keep the greenery thriving.

He'd been amazing with Eloise, though; she had to admit it. Caring, thoughtful, funny. With his tiny cousin, Chuck had cut loose. He'd worked to figure out what the baby needed. He'd made time to be with her.

To Bair's surprise, Chuck had even arranged time off from the office for both of them, lasting until Christmas, if necessary. Listing to him make those arrangements with his assistant, she'd hardly been able to believe her ears. Honestly, Chuck taking time off was like….like Charlie Brown scoring the biggest, fancies Christmas tree on the lot: highly unlikely.

She and Chuck were so different from who they had been ten years ago, so different from each other. So why, Blair wondered, did she still want him back?

You love him, her heart whispered. You do.

So? Smacking her pillow, Blair turned over again. So what if without Chuck, she felt like a Christmas ornament with no bough to rest on, like a festive wreath with no door to hold on to? That didn't mean she was just going to cave in.

Losing him had hurt. And losing him all over again would be even worse. Until she found some evidence he'd do more this time than squeeze her into his life between meetings and lost weekends, Blair intended to do all she could to resist Chuck, and all his charms.

Piece of fruitcake, she assured herself. After all…how irresistible could one man possible be.

AN; Thanks for the reviews. Hope you are enjoying your holiday seasons. Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven – O Christmas Tree.

Chuck was seducing her with Christmas, Blair realized when she awakened the next day. He knew it was her favorite season, and he was taking advantage of that fact, While she'd slept, he'd apparently zipped down to the nearest twenty-four hour store, with Eloise in tow…and obliterated the Holiday Décor section.

Looking around, Blair elbowed herself upward against the bed. She blinked groggily and made her way out of the room. Sure the overall look Chuck had achieved wasn't Martha Stewart. It wasn't even Martha Stewart Dose Kmart. But the multicolored lights, buckets of candy canes, plastic plug-in-light-up Santa, pots of poinsettias, and everything else he'd purchased and arranged did possess a certain hokey charm. Sort of like Chuck himself.

And she loved it.

She smiled sleepily and flopped down onto the sofa. As she did, a chocolate croissant drifted into her vision, held by Chuck and bringing with it the intoxicating scents of sugar and at least four thousand calories. Blair wasn't entirely sure calories containted aromas, but in her imagination they did. The more enticing and forbidden – and more numerous they were – the better they tended to smell.

So far, aromadieting hadn't steered her wrong.

'I absolutely shouldn't eat that,' she said.

But of course, she was going to anyway. What good was aromadieting, if not to guide her to the most delectable ways to treat herself? Party-hopping burned plenty of calories, Blair reasoned. And probably, so did resisting Chuck, who'd brought the temptation and even now was seated on the coffee table to her left, looking irresistible himself.

Since she couldn't allow herself to have him, she accepted the pastry in it's paper bakery wrapping instead. It was a poor substitute, but it would have to do. Thanking him, Blair lifted the sweet treat higher. She inhaled.

Indulgences, after all, were meant to be savored. Otherwise, they were just routine diet infractions.

'I brought you one of these, too.' Chuck lifted a Christmas themed Starbucks cup.

'Peppermint hot chocolate!' Blair squealed with delight. She seized the cup he offered, overcome with a sense of homecoming. The chocolaty drink was her secret treat, her non-sophisticated rejoinder to the world that sometimes let her down. Her favorite childhood treat. She clutched the warmness between her hands and gazed at Chuck. 'Aww. You remembered.'

'Don't go getting all misty on me. It's just a drink.'

'And an instant Christmas to go with it.' Refusing to let him downplay the importance of all he had accomplished while she'd been logging beauty sleep, Blair gestured toward the haphazardly hung decorations. 'You've really gotten into the spirit of things. I'm impressed.'

He shrugged. 'Just sticking with the plan. For Eloise's sake.'

Chuck nodded toward the baby, who was happily playing a few feet away in her cotton candy colored bouncer. Then he looked back at Blair, a certain earnestness in his face, in the press of his palms between his knees.

'And for yours,' he added quickly.

'Oh, Chuck.'

Chuck gazed to the poinsettias, resplendently red in their pots, and nonchalantly said, 'I thought we'd go shopping today.'

'Oh, Chuck!' how was she supposed to resist this? A man who brought her breakfast, remembered her secret childhood favorites, and voluntarily shopped?

'Bloomingdales opens at ten, he went on, 'so whenever you're ready…'

He understood shopping standard time. She'd never know that about him. With thoughts of caution fading, Blair flung back the blanket's.

'I'll be ready before you know it,' she promised. Still clutching her hot chocolate, she stuck the croissant in her mouth and then headed for the bedroom. A quick shower, a date with the blow-dryer, a little lip gloss and then…

She turned, to find Chuck watching her.

Hunger had darkened his eyes, straightened the sensual line of his mouth. He looked both languid and ready, open and unreadable. He looked…

….like everything she'd ever wanted.

His gaze met hers. A corner of his mouth lifted, as though Chuck meant to pretend he hadn't just been ogling her like a starving man staring at sugared Christmas cookies.

'Nice legs,' he said.

Her nightshirt, She'd forgotten she was wearing it. Its hem only came to the tops of her thighs. It's flimsy pink silk didn't leave much to the imagination, either. Blair resisted the urge to tug it lower as she stepped toward him.

She bit off some croissant, chewed and swallowed while she looked him over. A familiar heat curled between them, encouraged by memories of everything they'd shared. It had been so long. Too long. Both of them knew it.

'Nice…everything.' Her reply echoed his and so sis the lingering look she allowed herself. Blair advanced nearer. Her cup thunked on the coffee table near his hip, then was joined by her forgotten pastry. 'But I'd like to experience it for myself.'

She leaned forward and took his mouth with hers. He tasted of coffee and donut, of desire and long-suppressed need. Groaning with pleasure, Blair deepened her kiss. This had definitely been the right move to make. Instantly, Chuck's arms were around her, pulling her down.

They landed amid the blankets that had been discarded, Chuck beneath her and Blair thrillingly sprawled atop him. Their mouths met, explored, withdrew for nothing less then urgently needed breath. Their coming together was old times melded with new discovery, longing joined with abandonment. Rolling, seeking, caressing, they remembered….everything.

She was falling, falling for him all over again. The dizziness of his muscles against her…all combined to leave Blair with the sweetest sence of déjà vu. This was how they were meant to be. This, together. Eagerly, her paltry resistance gone, she grabbed his shirt in both hands and prepared to remodel Chuck exactly as she wanted him: naked, with her.

He beat her to it. His hands, big and familiar and welcome, slid beneath her nightshirt. His palms cupped her; his breath slid past her ear as he whispered how good she felt to him. As though nothing had passed between them. As though Blair and Chuck had never parted, they found every favorite rhythm, every sensitive place, every pleasure.

Almost.

Because just as Blair prepared to throw caution – and her panties - to the wind, they both stopped. Froze. Sniffed. They shared a puzzled look.

'ohmigod!' Blair clapped her hands over her nose and mouth.

Chuck did the same. 'Uggh! What is that?'

At the edge of the room, Eloise babbled. With dawning comprehension, they looked her way. She squealed. She shook her baby bouncer with exuberant thrusts of her tiny legs. She grinned.

And the odor of a baby who really needed a diaper change grew stronger.

'It's a miracle everyone isn't an only child,' Chuck muttered, wincing.

'I guess it's shower time for me!' Blair said at the same moment.

Of course, t sounded like, 'I duss dit's tower time for me,' because she'd pinched her nose between her fingers to block the stench. But that didn't matter.

Their amorous intentions vanished. They parted with mural speed, each headed in a different direction. And really, Blair reflected as she rescued her breakfast before it could be reverse-aromatherapied, there wasn't a damned thing new about that, now was there?

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, Chuck realized several things. First among them was that Blair's kiss had triggered a craving for her unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Second, unfortunately, was that they might never get the chance to repeat it. Although Blair seemed suddenly open to the reunion he'd hoped for, baby Eloise kept them on the run every minute.

They stopped at Bloomingdales on that first morning visiting Santa, of course, and made the rounds of everything remotely Christmassy during the days that followed. They spent the daylight hours soaking up the New York December air, taking Eloise to various holiday events. A parade. The Constance Billard Christmas bizarre and 6 different venders to find the perfect Christmas tree.

They brought Tiffany ornaments and strung popcorn and cranberries, hung foil icicles and established a baby-proofed protective gate around the resulting masterpiece when Chuck set it up on a table by the window.

In the evenings, they walked through Midtown with Eloise snuggled in her bug-a-boo, oohing and aahing at the elaborate storefront Christmas light displays along 5th avenue.

They feasted on gingerbread people and hung stockings on Chuck's entertainment-center-turned-mantel; one big one, one smaller one, and one teeny one.

They joined together in ways they never had before.

For Eloise's sake Chuck and Blair somehow managed to put their ordinary priorities on hold… and their relationship flourished because of it. Blair abandoned her parties for a week. Chuck donated his office for use as command central in his suites ongoing Christmas makeover. His usual holiday unease faded, pushed aside by Blair's caroling, mulled-cider drinking and jingle bell ring.

He was happy.

So was she.

He could tell. She smiled. She laughed. She greeted each day with boundless energy, and a new idea for how they could bring the holidays alive for Eloise. Her generosity surprised him…and so did the realization, when it come, of exactly why Blair loved socializing.

They'd been visiting the tree in Rockefeller center. While craning their necks to see the top, Blair had struck up a conversation with a group of Australian tourists nearby. After the group had gone on its way, Chuck glanced at Blair.

'You look happy.' He nodded toward the departing tourists. 'Friends of yours?'

'Not for long.' Cheerfully, she gave them a wave. She helped Eloise do the same. 'Bye, Merry Christmas!'

He didn't get it. 'Then why….?'

'Because, Chuck, Blair said as she turned to him, 'it makes everyone feel good to chat for a little while. I like making contact with people. I like knowing our days are brighter for having talked for a few minutes, even if we'll never meet again.' She shrugged. 'That's all.'

'That's all?'

She nodded and adjusted Eloise on her hip.

'But that's…amazing.'

Blair honestly didn't know, Chuck realized. She didn't understand what was so special about reaching out to complete strangers and befriending them, if only for a few minutes. Watching her wrinkle her nose in confusion at him, he felt himself fall in love with her, all over again.

'You,' he said. 'You're amazing.'

She ducked her head and grinned, making a fuss over Eloise's latest holiday hair bow. 'Thanks. You're not so bad yourself.'

They shared a smile. Eloise oo-gooed. And suddenly, Chuck saw Blair's constant social whirl in a whole new light. Not something taken, but as something given.

As something givin freely, with only good thoughts behind it. He realized, in that moment, that he could never ask her to give it up.

Things had changed. And now, so had he,

Unaware of that fact, Blair strapped Eloise into her stroller, discussing the merits of wardrobe color therapy as she did. The baby spoke animatedly back, babbling as though she understood. And maybe, given that they were both females and thus perpetually mysterious, she did.

They waved good-bye to the tree and all its glittery branched glory, and then walked past the glittering lights of 5th avenue to where Chuck's driver waited with the car. That was where Chuck had spotted it the perfect Christmas gift for Blair. With a hurried excuse, he handed the baby bag to Blair and promised to meet her and Eloise back in the car. This was simply too good to pass up.

AN; Hope you enjoyed the chapter, pretty please with candy cane on top review.

Xo B


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight –

Chuck slipped into his office that evening, shortly after they put Eloise to bed. He ducked beneath the garland draped in the doorway, picked his way through the jumbo rolls of red and green and gold wrapping paper Blair had left for safekeeping and moved aside a stack of holiday movies on DVD. Then he got down to work.

Pulling out fresh paper and pens, Chuck let loose his feelings in the Christmas card for Blair, it had to be perfect.

He was halfway finished when a rustle in the doorway alerted him he wasn't alone. Chuck froze, then with deliberate casualness drew a blank sheet of paper atop his card and turned to Blair.

She blinked. 'You're working?'

The disappointment in her face hurt him to see, 'Not exactly.'

'Yes, you are. You're looking at plans or, something.'

'Or something,' he agreed. He put down his pen and went to her. 'I can do it later. Let's go….look through Christmas catalogs again. You had fun doing that last night.'

He tried to look enthusiastic about decorative throw pillows.

Blair wasn't having any of it. She folded her arms. 'Why do you shut me out like this?'

'Like what?' there was no way he was shower her the Christmas card before it was ready. 'I'm not shutting you out.'

'I thought…' her voice rasped. 'I thought we'd moved past this. This week….I thought this week was special.'

Plaintively, she gazed up at him. Helplessly, Chuck gazed back. How could he be hurting her, when all he wanted to do was make her something special?

'This week has been special.' He saw her lower lip quiver, and forged onward. 'I thought you weren't interested in my work, that's all. I'm sorry. I'll never do it again.'

'Never do what again?'

She had him there. He was well-intentioned but…

'Uh…'

'Oh, Chuck.'

'Never shut you out again?'

Blair's smile was wobbly, but it was there. He suddenly felt mighty enough to hoist the Rockefeller Christmas tree with one hand. Instead, he reached for the women he'd dreamed of.

'Come here. I have something to show you.

* * *

Watching Chuck pull out plans and preliminary drawings, cover his desk with neatly-penned imaginings and share them with her, Blair was struck by two things that had never occurred to her before. First, that Chuck was really sexy when he was enthusiastic about his work. Second, that he really loved what he did. Really truly loved it.

Chuck unrolled his work with the enthusiasm of a kid diving beneath a tree on a predawn Christmas morning, with the reverence of a hairdresser encountering a natural blonde. He talked about it passionately, knowledgeably, generously. Seen through his eyes, Chuck's work held meaning far beyond buying the building.

It spoke of Chuck. His imagination. His precision. His ability to see things in a way few others could. And looking at it with him, Blair saw Chuck in a way she never had: as a man captivated by achievement. His wasn't a world of automatic ambition or endless corporate wrangling. It was a world built by his hard work and business minded ambition.

All at once, those times she'd resented his decisions to please his dad by taking over the company, took new meaning. Suddenly changed, she understood.

Blair nodded as Chuck took her hand. She trembled as he guided her across the plans for a new club, explaining how the room would feel to the people who would one day occupy it. She ached as he paused, looked sideways at her, smiled.

She could never ask him to give this up, Blair realized. If she was to love Chuck, she'd love him this way…exactly as he was.

And she did.

Turning, she cupped his jaw in her hands, savored the intimate prickle of his razor stubble against her palm. 'Thank you for showing me this,' Blair said. 'I love…it.'

_Coward_, her newly enlighten self said. _Tell him what you really mean!_ But she couldn't. Not yet.

He looked surprised. 'You do?'

'Mmm-hum.' At some point, he'd put his arms around her, Blair realized. They snuggled together automatically, with practiced ease. She could have stood in the warmth of his touch forever. 'I do. You must be the best employ of Bass Industries.'

'Hey, I don't have to be.' Chuck's powerful shoulders rose on a shrug. 'My uncle's the boss, remember? But thanks.'

Blair narrowed her eyes. 'Everyone knows you're at Bass because of you're talented. Not because your last name's on the letterhead.'

He shrugged again, then turned away to gather up the things he'd shown her. Watching him in astonishment, Blair learned the truth: Everyone knew that…except Chuck.

'It's true,' she said fiercely. 'Really, really true.'

He rolled his eyes. Didn't look at her.

Blair touched his are. 'It's true.' She kissed him. 'We all see it.'

'Blair…' He ducked his head, obviously uncomfortable. 'You don't have to…'

'Oh, yes. Yes I do.' She grabbed his shoulders, turning him to face her. His pain, however buried, hurt her, too. She needed to make him feel better. 'I'm telling you the truth. Believe it.'

'Okay, I do. Now quit manhandling me.' With a cocky grin that belied the shadows in his eyes, Chuck nodded toward his navy button down. 'You picked out this shirt yourself. You probable don't want to ruin it.'

'Oh, I don't?' Blair raised her eyebrows. She grinned. Then she picked up the scissors she'd stowed with the wrapping paper and deliberately snipped his shirt.

'Hey!' Chuck goggled at her. 'What'd you do that for?'

'So it would be easier to do this,' Blair replied. Then she seized both frayed edges she'd created, drew in a deep breath…and ripped Chuck's shirt right down the middle.

'I've always wanted to do that,' she said, giddily pleased with herself.

He started, obviously unable to believe what had just happened. His shirt hung in two raggedly bisected halves. Between were revealed his sculpted chest muscles, the lower edge of one shoulder, and the slightly enticing hair, leading her eyes along it's path down.

While she watched, the sense of seductive fun returned to his eyes. 'I think I've always wanted you to do that.'

Blair smiled. If there was one thing she'd learned about men, it was that talk was cheap. Men like Chuck understood action. In that spirit, she moved closer again.

'Now,' she murmured, 'I want you to believe me when I tell you this: I'm in awe of your business talent. I know you're a star at Bass Industries because of it, and not because of any currently skiing-in-Switzerland family connections. And if I have to hold you down and make love to you to prove it,' Blair concluded with mock ferocity, 'then I'm prepared to do exactly that. Exactly that!'

Chuck's grin widened. An unmistakable heat flared in his gaze, igniting a similar heat within her. They'd been down this road before…and this time would be even better.

His stance took on an obvious, teasing challenge. 'In that case…I don't believe you.'

She cocked a brow, anticipation whirling inside her. 'Don't say I didn't warn you.'

'Wouldn't dream of it.'

'Hmm.' Blair advanced, then indulged herself in a hands-on examination of his newly bared chest. 'I'll give you something to dream about.'

His hands cupped her derriere, hauling her against him. Their hips made contact. 'That goes double for you.'

Geez, but she loved this man.

'I hope that's a promise,' Blair said.

'You'd better believe it.'

Those were loving words and they were the last words Chuck said that night….unless you count that naughty ones.

Blair definitely did.

* * *

There was just something about the morning after, Chuck decided as he made his way to the bar the next day. Something amazing. He felt better than he had in years.

He'd awakened this Friday morning – the day before Christmas eve – to find himself in bed alone, with Eloise's crib empty beside him. His first thought had been to find her, and Blair.

Blair. After a night spent loving her, Chuck knew he couldn't let her go. Whatever it took, they had to be together. Their time together would only last until Jack returned to pick up Eloise, but that might still be days from now. Possibly not until after Christmas, Chuck had begun to hope. Until then, he and Blair could be together.

The sound of babyish squeal came from the other side of the door, where his cousin waited along with the women who'd left him to awaken with a smile.

A big smile.

All at once, the importance of the next few moments struck him. What if Blair had regrets? What if he did? What if things had changed…for the worse, somehow? Chuck stopped abruptly.

Feeling inexplicably jittery, he glanced downward at his casual silk pajama bottoms and shirt. He smoothed a wrinkle. Ran a hand through his hair. Checked the effectiveness of his toothpaste. Okay. At least he didn't smell like the creature from the black lagoon. Things would probably be all right . He opened the door. Blair's smile was the first thing he saw, and it was…beautiful. Just like she was, to him.

Relief filled him. 'Morning. Sleep well?'

'Hardly a wink.' Her smile widened as she passed some dry cereal to Eloise along with a Sippy cup. 'You?'

'Barely closed my eyes.' Chuck kissed the top of Blair's head. He stroked her hair, plucked out the rogue Cheerio. 'Somebody kept me up all night.'

'That sounds like a compliment.'

'Only if we don't do it again. Soon.'

He captured her cheek in his hand, turning her face upward to meet his. He smiled, then kissed her.

Okay, so his kiss quickly turned into a chair-straddling, hands-delving-into-her –hair, wanton wake-up free-for-all. And Blair quickly caught on to the morning's mood, fisting her hands in his shirt to hold him close and moaning her approval of their coming together. But did that really mean things had changed between them?

Sure it did, Chuck figured. Until…

'Mmmm. Eloise,' Blair gasped, reluctantly pulling away. She gestured toward the baby, who was happily occupied in her hooked on infant seat with the challenge of pinching Cheerios between her pudgy fingers and hurling them onto the floor. 'We have to think about Eloise.'

'Okay.' Chuck waved to his cousin. 'Morning, little Eloise. I'll be with you in a minute. Just as soon as I finish telling Blair how beautiful she looks.'

'Chuck…'

'You look so beautiful.'

She shook her head, laughing. I have cereal decorating my bed-head do, apple juice spilled on my skirt' – she waved a hand toward her short skirt and matching red sweater – 'and no recollection of how to apply eyeliner after having gone mostly au naturel all week. You're nuts.'

_No, I'm in love_, Chuck thought_. With you._ But he couldn't say it aloud. Not yet.

'I stand by my opinion,' he said instead, kissing her again. He levered upward from his chair-straddling position and headed for the coffeepot on the room service cart. 'You're just going to have to get used to it.'

'Gee, I'll try. I may need some practice.'

'Okay. I'll say it again: You're beautiful.'

Blair smiled. 'Very obliging of you. Thanks.'

Chuck returned with his cup of Christmas blend black coffee and settled across the table from her, on the other side of Eloise. He sipped. 'I aim to please.'

'You do please.'

'It's the company I keep.' He raised his Santa mug in a salute to her. 'It's easy to please the one's you….'

She stilled.

_Love!_ Shouted his inner heart. _Just say it!_

'… really want to please.'

Lame.

Blair's mouth turned downward, as though she were disappointed. How that could be, Chuck didn't know, because she couldn't possibly have guessed what he was going to say. And also because he was busy kicking himself for having wimped out.

All he knew for sure was that he wanted to make things better for her…yet he wasn't sure how. Something still held him back.

As it turned out, that something was Blair. Leaving. 'Well, this looks more like target practice then breakfast,' Blair said to Eloise. Briskly, she scooted back her chair and stood. 'I think it's time for a bath. And some new clothes. Maybe that adorable Christmas-tree-print dress, huh?'

Gurgling, Eloise squished two soggy Os between her palms. She smiled up at Blair when she gently pulled her from her infant seat and settled her against her hip. The two of them together made a wonderful picture.

All except for Blair' wobbly smile.

'Blair….'

'It's all right. Nobody said this week had to be perfect. Or perfect for us. So long as Eloise is happy, we've done what we set out to do. Right?'

Then, before Chuck could so much as disagree, she turned, tugged Eloise higher on her hip, and headed for the hallway, disappearing from view.

* * *

Waiting for the tub to fill for Eloise's bath, Blair sat on the floor with the baby in her arms and tried not to think of Chuck. It was impossible, though. Last night had changed things for her. For a minute there, she'd thought it had changed things for him, too.

_It's easy to please the one you…_

'Love,' she whispered now, quietly. 'It's easy to please the one you love. Right, Chuck?'

That's how she'd felt, during their tender hours of lovemaking last night. And afterward, too, while she'd watched Chuck sleeping. It hadn't been an accident that Blair had been the one to get up with Eloise. She'd already been awake, trying to savor every minute of time together with the man she cared about most in the world.

'Ahhh gaaaa,' Eloise sad, patting Blair's cheek. The baby peered up at her seriously, just like a commiserating friend. 'Gaaa.'

With a smile, Blair sniffed. She blinked back a tear. Even females at opposite ends of the dating spectrum could relate to each other. It had to be genetic. Sort of like a fondness for holiday potpourri.

Deliberately turning her mind toward topics both safer and surer then her relationship with Chuck, Blair finished Eloise's bath. By the time she'd brushed her hair and dressed the baby in a clean diaper and the aforementioned Chritmassy dress, she was feeling just like her old self again.

Well…her old self minus a much needed fresh manicure and a blow-out at the salon. But that was all right. She felt better, and Blair figured that was the important thing.

Naturally, that was when the other shoe dropped. She carried Blair into the living room, looking for Chuck as she helped Eloise into her baby bouncer for playtime. Just as Eloise gave her first exuberant jump, Blair spotted him. And knew instantly something was wrong.

'What happened?'

Blankly Chuck stared at the phone in his hand. He fisted the receiver, then blinked at Blair. 'That was Jack. The storm broke yesterday. They just arrived at JFK. They'll be here to pick up Eloise within an hour.'

…

An/I really don't have an excess for not updating, I just didn't have time or inspiration. But I have most it written now. So review and let me know if you are still reading and I will keep posting.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine – So this is Christmas….

It was too soon.

That was all Chuck could think when he heard the knock on his front door. It was all to much, much too soon.

He hadn't told Blair he loved her yet. Hadn't mastered the deft flick of the wrist that meant Eloise's diaper wouldn't sag to her chubby knees the minute she crawled away. He needed more time. His heart - and clearly, his baby cousin's mobility – depended on it.

But time was one thing he didn't have. That much was evident when he opened the door to Jack and his wife, and saw their eagerness to be reunited with their daughter.

'Eloise!' his aunt cried, rushing forward in a swell of perfume to lift the baby from Chuck's practiced Fendi-bag hold for a hug. She held her close, smiling. 'Mommy missed you sooo much! Yes, I did!'

Jack was there, too enveloping his family. He spoke gruffly of having missed his tiny daughter, stroked her hair with his hand and tweaked the jingle bells on her booties.

'Thanks for helping us out Chuck,' he said. 'I don't know what we would have done without you. And you too, Blair. We really appreciate this.'

Blair stepped forward, lugging Eloise's diaper bag. 'It was our pleasure,' she said as she held it toward Eloise's parents.

Casually, Jack reached for it. Then he tugged. Finally, he pried Blair's fingers loose. He gave her a confused glance as the bag came free.

She laughed. 'I guess I'm a little reluctant to see her go.' Blair's gaze darted toward Chuck. In her eyes, he saw more then reluctance to see Eloise go; he saw reluctance to end the togetherness the two of them had shared during this pre-Christmas week. He moved toward her.

With well rehearsed ease, the driver gathered Eloise's pile of pink paraphernalia and began carrying things out to the car. Chuck helped, along with Blair. Sooner then he would have thought possible the family was in the limo, with Eloise strapped safely in her car seat beside them.

Reluctantly, Chuck and Blair waved. Eloise's little face turned toward them through the open window, then she pulled her fist from her mouth. She clenched and unclenched her fingers in a babyish version of a wave.

He realized how much he would miss her.

An instant later, Chuck and Blair were alone, standing in the Palace court yard. It was all over.

* * *

Surely it wasn't over just like that, Blair thought. She looked at Chuck and saw him staring, inexplicably, at the lights along the sidewalk. They were unlit and cold; despite the sunlit overhead, the lights seemed bleak.

She stepped closer. They eyes met.

In his she glimpsed a certain preoccupation. Probably, he was thinking of a new design, she realized, or of all the work he'd put off during their week together. Just like old times. Despite everything, disappointment stole through her.

Chuck turned, hands in his pockets. He squinted up at the building, where multicolored lights had been hung. His thoughtful expression seemed to shut her out, as though he had room in his mind anything but her.

Any minute now, Chuck would ask her stay, Blair thought, biting her lip. He'd put his arms around her the way he had so many times before. He'd offer to serve her eggnog in bed, to kiss her beneath the mistletoe…to love her.

A moment passed. Another. Finally, Blair gave herself a mental kick. _Quit being such a sucker. This isn't some movie. Neither of you is going to change that much, just because it happens to be Christmas._

Except she had, she thought. She had, because of Chuck. And he hadn't. Not if his inability to ask a girl for a simple RSVP for the immediate Christmas holidays was any indication. Heavy-hearted, Blair drew in a breath.

'Well, I guess that's that,' she said, and fished her cell phone from her coat pocket.

She dialed. Hazel answered on the third ring. Within minutes, Blair had checked back into her usual social whirl.

Chuck followed the phone's return to her pocket with something very close to animosity. Which didn't make much sense, really. What had her innocent social lifeline ever done to him?

'Big plans?' he asked.

Blair shrugged. 'Same plans. A tree-trimming party. Brunch. Cocktails. The usual.'

'Right, I guess you'll be wanting your things, then.'

His stiffened shoulders all but begged for a hug. Blair stepped nearer, but Chuck turned at the same moment. He went into the building, politely holding the elevator so she could follow him. She did.

There was nothing to say as she gathered her belongings from the bathroom vanity, and stuffed everything into her overnight bag. What could she say?

Please, ask me to stay came to mind.

So did good-bye.

Blair had trouble with both. So instead she stood tall , holding her bad, and gazed up at Chuck.

'We did pretty well,' she said. 'With Eloise I mean.'

His unexpected grin disarmed her further. It was brief but potent. Damn, but she wished he do something!

'All thanks to you,' Chuck told her. 'You were wonderful.'

She wished this didn't have the feeling of a long goodbye. 'So were you….Mr Griiiinch.'

He laughed, just as Blair had intended.

With forced cheerfulness, she held out her hand. 'Well, I guess this is good-bye. See you around, Chuck. Take care of yourself.'

* * *

Chuck stared at Blair's outstretched hand, unable to believe this was happening. Again. How had it come to pass that he was letting her go…just when he'd vowed they should stay together?

He hesitated. He should have been glad, a part of him knew. After all, this was, ostensibly, what he'd wanted all along, wasn't it? To be left alone, with plenty of time for work. With Blair on her way to her round of holiday parties, Chuck would be able to finish the projects he'd had in mind. He'd be able to really make his mark at Bass Industries.

Except last night, he'd believed Blair. He'd believed her when she'd said everyone knew his abilities were the base of his business success, not his family connections. And because of that, he was changed today.

Sure it had taken a few kisses (okay, a lot) and some creative (okay, sensual) persuasion…but in the end, Blair's Christmas gift to him had been an end to his uncertainty about his work. In light of that fact, spending the holidays cozying up to his computer seemed wrong.

He and Blair had had a wonderful week. A magical week. He didn't want to let her go. On the other hand, looking at her now with her cell phone back in business and her bags in hand, she didn't seem changed by their time together at all.

Evidently, he'd been the only one to feel the deep-ended connection between them-the only one to fall in love over paper snowflakes.

Maybe it had all been a product of caring for Eloise, Chuck thought. Maybe it was baby-induced temporary togetherness that had rekindled their relationship, and not genuine feelings at all. Maybe he and Blair had gotten carried away with jingle-bell gaiety and luminaria-lighting closeness, and their love was only a holiday illusion.

Maybe he'd never know.

He took her hand. Savored the warmth of her skin against his, probably for the last time. Forced himself to speak, in a voice turned suddenly rough. 'Let's get together in a few days.'

Blair bit her lip. She nodded.

'This has been…a crazy time. The holidays…'

'I know, they're nuts.' Still nodding.

'..and with Eloise…'

'Sure.' She waved her free hand. 'Of course.'

'In a few days,' Chuck went on. 'after Christmas. Maybe we'll know how we really feel. Without the baby. In a few days maybe we'll be able to say…'

The door bell buzzed, alerting them to the presence of a guest downstairs.

'That's Hazel. We're going to a tree trimming party.' Blair adjusted her purse, cheeked the position of her overnight bag, then used her grasp on Chuck's hand to rise on tiptoes. Her lips brushed his faintly. 'I'd better run. Merry Christmas, Chuck.'

The warmth of her kiss faded slowly. In a flurry of cherry red clothed and a clatter of high heels, she strode into the elevator.

Chuck griped the door, 'Maybe by then,' he finished saying quietly, 'we'll be able to say 'I love you'…and know it's true.'

Then closed the door, and did his best to close his mind to all they might have shared…if only she had stayed.

…

AN: Hope this chapter gives those of you who read the spoilers some hope. Only one or two chapters left, because not many people are reviewing.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten –

At the party that afternoon, Blair accidently dropped and shattered an angel-shaped ornament. She burst into tears, right in the middle of 'Jingle Bell Rock.' Everyone said they hadn't realized how sensitive she was about holiday home décor.

At a cocktail party that night, Blair kicked back one too many peppermint martinis and lurched onstage in her party dress and stilettos for a soulful solo rendition of 'Please come home for Christmas.' She burst into tears, right in the middle of happy hour. Everyone said they hadn't realized how powerful a performer she was.

During brunch on Saturday, Blair shocked the entire crowd by turning down her usual Bellini and requesting a hot chocolate instead. Then when the waiter brought it, she burst into tears, right in the middle of the banana stuffed streusel French toast. Everyone said they hadn't realized how much she appreciated warm chocolate beverages.

Blair knew better. It was missing Chuck that had got her so off-kilter. Nothing - not even the holiday joviality she usually loved – felt right without him. She needed Chuck, needed him the way Dasher and Dancer needed Donner and Blitzen. The way a gift-wrapped package needed a festive bow. The way gingerbread men needed gumdrop buttons. And he … well, he didn't need her.

She could wait until after Christmas, Blair told herself. She could stick to the arrangements they'd made, hold out to feel Chuck's arms around her again, to hear his laughter in her ear and feel his warmth all around her. She could.

But damn it, she didn't want to.

Hopping on one foot while she removed her post-brunch sling backs on Saturday, Blair wrenched off her shoes and dropped them in the doorway. She grabbed her trusty cell phone. To hell with being miserable. It was practically a modern woman's holiday duty to make the most of Christmas time, she reminded herself. And unrequited love definitely did not make for the merriest Christmas eve.

Impatiently, Blair waited while the phone connected. She held her breath, thoughts of what she'd say to Chuck whirling in her head. Maybe she'd tell him she finally understood his dedication to his father's company. Maybe she'd tell him she thought they should try again.

Maybe she'd tell him she loved him.

His line was busy.

* * *

Alone in his living room, Chuck shot a baleful glance toward his phone, He'd turned it off almost an hour ago in an attempt to evade his well-meaning family's calls, but the damn thing still bothered him. By now he was ready to disconnect the phone service. Permanently.

But then he realized he'd never be able to order a pizza, and reconsidered.

Leaning sideways, Chuck snatched the Phone. Sunshine bounced off it's slick surface, moving on a late afternoon slant through the window. The glowing lights on the Christmas tree nearby reflected, too. They reminded him of the family get-together he'd bailed on that morning, and the reasons behind his leaving, and his purpose in having turned off his cell.

Nose to cushion as he stuffed in the phone, Chuck caught a hint of Blair's perfume, a remnant of there sleepover. His heart clenched. In a moment he considered utterly and embarrassingly un-masculine, he buried his face in the leather upholstery and inhaled. Deeply.

Hell, but he missed her.

His family had known something was up the minute his brother had caught him moonily watching. A Christmas story on TV.

They'd become increasingly curious when Chuck had agreed to play in the Van Der Bass Humphrey touch football game, because he had been to busy staring at a dark-haired, stiletto-heeled, red-wearing woman walking through the park. A women who hadn't been Blair.

But when he's gotten misty while watching his Nephew sing along to 'You're a mean one Mr. Grinch….well, that was when all hell had broken loose. The questions had begun, the bets had been laid, and the 'who's the lucky women?' predictions had been proclaimed. Not that any of his family had any doubt that the person who had rendered Chuck sloppily sentimental was the very same brunet who had called to cancel her standing RSVP. And they all wanted to talk about it, especially Serena.

It had all been too much for Chuck to take, especially given how raw his feelings were about having lost Blair. Amid the knowing glances between his sister and stepsister. And the insistence from his mother to call 'the girl and make it right, he'd slipped away. Now he was here alone, missing Blair.

He should have found a way to tell her he loved her, Chuck told himself as he splayed his hands on the sofa cushions and straightened. He should have explained that he understood his feelings now, that he thought they could make a go of it if only they tried.

Instead, he'd remained silent. Stoic.

After all, what possible reason could justify letting your dream women walk out the door?

Unless you were Bogie's character in Casablanca, Chuck couldn't think of a single one. Christmas was a time for togetherness, and the plain fact was, Chuck wasn't together with Blair. Without her, the season lost all it's sparkle. Without her, nothing felt right…and never would.

Decisively, he excavated the phone. He pressed the little red button to restore it to life. Then, before anyone could call and delay his connection with the slew of potential proposal ideas (His step father thought serenading 'the girl' with a song on stage was awfully cute), Chuck dialed Blair's number.

He only hoped he wasn't to late.

* * *

Carrying the packages she'd assembled on her way out, Blair paused her open apartment door. She bit her lip. Carefully, she pulled her cell phone from her handbag. Looked at it. Then, deliberately, she leaned inside and set her phone on the small table just inside. Bravely, she left it behind when she leaned out again.

Blair closed the door with a clunk.

For an instant, panic struck her. She thought of her trusty cell phone, it's built-in microbrowser silenced, its enhanced digital phone book temporality out of commission. She remembered how it had looked so alone on the table, so forlorn and abandoned.

But she had to be strong. She had to go on with her life. Her entire Christmas season depended on it. So she did.

Several steps toward the elevator, Blair thought she heard her phone ringing. She stopped, cocking her head. Chuck, Chuck could be calling! At that moment, the elevator dinged, burying the sound. Disappointed, Blair shrugged and continued onward. More then likely, she'd only imagined that cheerful ring.

That was what came, she guessed, of wishing for Chuck so hard. And giving up a perfectly good, social-life-enhancing ell phone on Christmas eve, no less.

The dirty-snow covered New York streets were gaily festooned as Blair drove resolutely across town. Holiday decorations hung from light post and stretched across intersections.

Amid all the decorations, a few last minute shoppers rushed to beat the stores' closing times.

Seeing them, Blair patted the packages on the seat beside her. This year would be her best gift-giving season ever. No doubt about it.

She reached he destination, throwing a ten at the taxi driver. As she got out of the cab with her packages and purse in tow, an uncharacteristic burst of uncertainty struck her. Maybe this wasn't the right thing to do. Maybe she should really-

Get moving, she ordered herself, and started walking. After all, if there was one thing she was good at, Blair figured it was making decisions. Even if they might be wild and crazy, out of-the-blue, Christmas-hopeful ones.

Chuck had a system worked out.

It went something like this: 'leave a massage' request. Then he'd do something Christmassy to give Blair time to actually answer her phone. Then he'd repeat the process as necessary.

One, two, three. Simple. Logical. A genuine guy-tested, bachelor-approved system.

By the time he'd called, put on a holiday CD, called, strung small white Christmas lights all over his bar, called, lit enough wreath-wrapped bay-berry candles to toast s'mores over, called and memorized Blair's upbeat cell phone voicemail message (down to the tone of the starting chirp), Chuck had realized the truth.

His system was crap.

If he wanted Blair – and he really, really did – there was only one thing to do: Go out and get her. Wherever she happened to be, And really, given Blair, that could be just about anywhere. The possibilities were endless. But Chuck meant to sift through every one of them, if necessary, to bring Blair back to him.

So what if he'd been the one sprouting 'let's get together in a few days.', platitudes? So what if it had taken him a while to wise up to the fact that, without Blair, there was no way any Christmas could ever be merry? Chuck had wised up now, and that was what counted. Someone had to make the first move, and it was going to be him.

Decisively, he picked up the holiday card he'd made for Blair and the wrapped gift that went with it. He smiled, imagining her face when she opened it. This year would definitely be his best gift-giving season ever.

He pressed the button to call the elevator and made ready to step out, never expecting the sight that greeted him when the doors slid open.

Blair.

She stood wearing a felt red Santa hat, one arm laden with packages and the other raised in a wave, looking beautiful and determined and (possibly) as surprised as he felt. At the sight of her, Chuck's pulse kicked up. His heart lurched. His smile broadened, hugely.

For an instant, he didn't move.

Only an arm's length distance separated them, but it was enough. Enough, apparently, to remind them both of their mutual agreement to wait a few days before seeing each other. Chuck could read the remembrance of his knucklehead suggestions in Blair's eyes, could feel it in the taut hesitation that strung between them.

She drew a breath. He fisted his hand on the door, needing to go to her … and wanting to know she had come to him. He'd never seen anyone more welcome, more needed, more beloved. Just looking at her, Chuck knew his entire lifetime wouldn't be enough to spend with her. Eternity would come up short.

Lowering the hand she'd poised to wave, Blair looked at him. A certain hope filled her eyes, a certain Christmas magic Chuck felt sure hadn't been there before.

He made his decision. Apparently, so did she.

'I couldn't wait,' they said in unison.

Blair smiled. As one they stepped forward united in semi defiance. They met in the doorway. 'I love you,' she said.

'I love you,' he said, and kissed her.

No mistletoe hung there above them. No Christmas carol urged their coming together. It was love alone that prompted it…love, and a particular holiday second chance, begun with jingle bells on a baby's booties and ended with two changed people.

Blair moved nearer in his arms. Her Santa hat fell to the floor, and their combined packages were squashed between them. But as the moments swept past and their kiss went on, neither of them cared. Holiday trimmings and cards and Christmas wrapped gifts were only temporary. Gifts, real gifts, were forever.

Their kiss ended. 'I tried to call,' they both said.

They laughed, with all the good cheer of two people whose plans went exactly as planned. Smiling, Chuck pulled Blair inside. He kicked the door closed and gestured for her to speak first.

'I tried to call,' she said again as she set aside her packages, 'but your phone was off. Chuck you've got to know – I was wrong. I was wrong before to expect you to be ready when I was, and I'm sorry. I understand now, and I think…'

'If we just talked about this stuff…'

'….then it'll be okay, from now on.'

He nodded as he put down his own packages. Overcome with relief and emotion, Chuck borrowed time by retrieving the fallen Santa hat and putting it back on Blair's head.

'I'm sorry, too.' He said gruffly. I'm different, because of you. I get it now and I have always known how I felt, I just couldn't say it.'

'Well, for you' – she grabbed the waistband of his pants and hauled him closer – 'It was worth the wait.'

'You want have to wait anymore, Blair. I'll cut back at work,' Chuck vowed. 'After all, it's not as though I have something to prove at the office.'

'No, you definitely don't.'

'And now maybe, I have something better to come home to.'

'Yes, you definitely do.'

The smile they shared was broad, wiser then before, grateful. Lowering his head, Chuck claimed the women he loved in a kiss as fierce and sweet as he could muster – and Blair kissed him back, with every indication of feeling exactly the same kind of love. Fierce. Sweet. Undeniable.

'I love you,' she said again when they'd parted. 'That's why I got you this.'

Waggling her eyebrows, she showed him the wrapped package she'd picked up from her stack. She waved it enticingly.

'You're not the only one,' Chuck grabbed the gift and card he'd set aside, and carefully held them up. 'I love you. and that's why I got you these.'

Blair laughed. She looked on the verge of clapping with glee. 'You shopped for me!'

Her gaze made him a hero for having done it. Chuck felt suddenly nervous. 'It's, uh … well, I hope you like it.'

He rubbed the back of his neck. Blair captured his hand and squeezed. 'I'll love it. Because it comes from you.'

Ribbons flew. Paper rustled. Bing Crosby sang about 'White Christmas' in the background. And moments later…

'Awww, Blair.' Chuck picked up the silk scarf, noticing the tiny gold heart sewn in place. 'I love it, love you.'

Glancing up happily, he saw her holding his gift, now unwrapped, in her palm. She examined the little box with an air of utter absorption.

His spirits sank a notch. 'It's not what you think, I'm not quiet ready for that commitment.'

'I don't understand' Blair said, not taking her eyes from the box.

'It's someday, someday soon. I want you to know that one day, it will be forever.'

Blair smiled.

He admired her spirit, taking the ring from the box he placed it on her finger, kissing her hand before releasing it.

'Maybe next year I'll manage another Tiffany gift,' he said, wondering about engagement rings, wedding rings, wondering what the heck was the difference, and whether Blair would want to except it anyway. He raised his hand again to cradle hers, 'Is this okay?'

Their eyes met and he sensed Blair holding her breath. 'It perfect! It's all I could want for Christmas…you.' She blinked, sucked in a gulp of air. He had the impression she was trying not to cry.

'Merry Christmas,' Chuck said as he kissed her again. 'From here on out, we'll always have each other. And it doesn't get any merrier then that.'

'Oh, Chuck!'

Then Blair did cry. But they were happy tears – the kind, as she helpfully explained later, that didn't smear your eyeliner or turn your mouth all blubbery. Wedding-guest tears, she said. So that was okay. And as she and Chuck unwrapped the rest of their gifts and cards, and snuggled beneath their Christmas tree, they learned together that Christmas brought many things to those who opened themselves to its magic.

Things like peace. Love. Goodwill. And, if you were really lucky, someone who didn't mind when you accidently pinned the nose on him, instead of the cardboard Rudolph.

Now, as Blair shared with him the last macaroon, Chuck smiled and realized something else for certain, too.

Next year would definitely be a Tiffany Christmas. No doubt about it.

…

AN: So that was the finial chapter. There may be an epilogue or a xmas 2010 sequel if there is interest in either. Hope you all enjoyed spending Christmas with chair. Thank you to al those who reviewed.

Please let me know if there is any interest in the epilogue.

xoxo


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